The Bare Necessities
by LLLEB08
Summary: A series of oneshots, not necessarily in any time order, showcasing little, important moments in the family Arizona and Callie have built together.  Co-written with Cole  coliebearz on LJ .
1. Of Bathtubs & Alley Cats

**A/N**: Hey everyone! This is a collaborative effort between myself and Coliebearz (.com/) over at the LJ community. She originally posted the first part, marked "Chapter One", as a one-shot, met me, and we turned it into a series. The prologue and concept goes 100% to her. But, she said I could post this here, and since I'm super proud of working with her, and what we came up with together, I wanted to shoot you guys some 'fluff' to offset some of the angsty fics out here lately. Enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

It's been twenty-six hours. Twenty-six hours since I walked through this door, although the last time was with a heavy heart and grumbled complaints about being on-call for what feels like more hours than any other surgeon in that hospital. I know she's already fallen asleep without me, so I don't bother lighting the room as I trudge over the carpet to the stairs, dragging my exhausted limbs to the top and through the first door on the left. Without even removing my scrubs, I fall onto the bed over the blankets and bury my face in the pillow; a smile crosses my face at the familiar scent of coconut embedded in the fabric. My last coherent thought before drifting away is that I must have crashed on her side of the bed, but I can barely open my eyes, much less wonder why she isn't here.

Mere moments later, I hear small footsteps that stop abruptly, and I roll over to peek through lidded eyes at the blonde in the doorway. She's wearing only a navy blue scrub top, unruly curls piled at the top of her head, excepting the one that stubbornly falls over her right eye like always. And then I hear it, the sweet voice I've missed for the last twenty-six hours.

"Mom?"

I crack one eye open, knowing she won't see it in the darkened room, and smile softly at the excitement in her voice.

"Mommy."

There it is again. I briefly wonder, in vain, how much longer I can hold out on her, because I know exactly what's coming next.

"Mom. Mom. Mommy. Ma. Mama. Mommy! Mom! MOM! MOMMYYYY..."

"What?"

She chuckles, bright blue eyes dancing as she tiptoes quietly to my side, her cool breath tickling my face.

"Hi."

She places a tiny, soft kiss against my cheek before giggling madly, taking off through the door and, undoubtedly, into her room at the opposite end of the hall. I shake my head, swiping my fingers gently over her kiss and turning onto my side, taking in for the first time the pile of messy blonde hair on the pillow next to mine. Her eyes are closed, but I can tell she's awake by her shallow breathing. I reach out and tuck a stray curl behind her ear.

"Hey you."

She sighs, her eyes remaining closed as she responds quietly. "She fell asleep on my side of the bed. That's why I'm right here. We missed you."

"That's why she was in here with you?"

She grins, finally opening her eyes to meet my gaze. "She was in here forcing me to watch The Jungle Book four times in a row."

"I don't know if I believe 'force' is the best word to use, Arizona."

She rolls her eyes, turning onto her back and crossing her arms over her chest. "Shut up and go to sleep, Calliope."

"Oh no," I reply with a smirk, rolling on top of her and pinning her against the mattress. "I haven't seen you in a whole day. And we're both awake. So..."

"So," she continues, closing her eyes and biting her lip in an attempt to hold back the moan her body wants to respond with to the soft kisses I trail down her neck and over her collarbone. "You have something in mind?"

I'm prevented from giving my sexy, witty response by the sound of a tiny reprimand coming from the bedroom door.

"Excuse me, ladies."

She stands with her hands planted firmly on her hips, Arizona's navy blue scrub top nearly brushing the ground and hanging off of her left shoulder. She gives us a stern glare, causing me to roll my eyes and flop back down beside Arizona.

"I have school in the morning, and you've been working for too long." She points a finger at me accusingly before returning her hand to her hip. "So it's time for bed."

"You don't have school in the morning, baby, it's Saturday," Arizona reminds her, leaning up on one elbow so she can see over me.

"Oh," she sighs, letting her arms hang at her sides as her head falls forward in disappointment. "No school?"

"No school," I reply softly, "so you should go to bed now...so you'll be ready to go to the park with me in the morning."

"Okay!" She chirps brightly, turning to leave but then stopping in her tracks and fixing us with a narrow-eyed glare. "But no more funny business. If I have to sleep, so do you."

"Alright," Arizona concedes with a laugh, and I look at her in just enough time to see her give our daughter a small wink. "Goodnight."

"Buenas noches!" She giggles, blowing each of us a little kiss as she skips away to her bedroom. I breathe a sigh of relief, my previous exhaustion hitting me full force as I burrow under the covers, resting on my side to face in to Arizona. She does the same, reaching forward to lace her fingers through mine as I finally start to drift off to sleep, a whispered "I love you" ringing in my ears.

"_Look for the bear necessities_

_The simple bear necessities_

_Forget about your worries and your trife..."_

I groan, pulling my pillow across my head to plug out the singing coming from the other bedroom. "She doesn't even know the right words."

"_I mean the bear necessities_

_Old Mother Nature's recipedes_

_That brings the bear necessities of life!"_

"Shh," Arizona replies softly, kissing the back of my hand twice. "Go to sleep."

"_La la la la la la!" _

"Ugh. That's _your_ child," I grumble, opening one eye to glare at Arizona.

"Yes," she answers softly, a pleased smile crossing her face as her eyes finally close. "Yes, she is."

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: Of Bathtubs & Alley Cats (1/2)**

"Mom!"

Callie groaned and ran her fingers through her unkempt black hair, dropping the stack of folded clothes in her hand to the soft, cream-colored carpet below her feet. She _really_ didn't have time for another trip into the bathroom to placate _Arizona's_ child. Again. As cute as she was...a woman could only take so much in twenty minutes with _so_ much still to do.

Taking a few steps to the open bedroom door, she leaned into the hall and spoke loudly enough to project her voice to the open bathroom door of the neighboring room.

"What, kiddo?"

"I'm getting my ears wet! Mom!"

She rolled her eyes but chuckled in amusement nonetheless, stepping into the hall and crossing the few feet to answer to her daughter's frantic calls. Grabbing the doorframe with her left hand, Callie swung her body into view of the claw foot bathtub.

"Baby, that's what's supposed to happen when you take a bubble ba...Jules! Why are you wearing those in the bathtub?"

The tiny body, covered in soap bubbles, her creamy shoulders lightly dusted with freckles, sat grinning triumphantly in the bathtub, with her shiny dirty blonde waves tucked behind the most obnoxious set of black cat ears Callie had ever seen. She giggled at her mother's expression, taking a handful of bubbles and sliding them across her chin and over her mouth.

"I'm getting into character for trick-or-treating."

Callie narrowed her eyes, folding her arms over her chest and standing up straight. "And you thought putting soap all over your mouth would help you 'get into character'? Where's the logic?"

She looked to Callie incredulously, as though the answer to her question was painfully obvious, like she had just asked her whether or not two plus two equals yellow.

"I'm going as an ally cat with rabies. What's scarier than that?"

This kid was _totally_, one hundred percent her mother's daughter. "That's a good question. But, I'm pretty sure cats hate water. So. You can 'get into character' once you're squeaky clean and dry. And dressed. Do we have a deal?"

She pouted over-dramatically, trying her best to show her distaste with her mom's 'deal' and slid the cat ears off her head, holding them mere inches above the water. Slowly dragging her eyes from the costume accessory to her mother, smirking just slightly before...

"Don't you dare. If you drop those in the bathtub I'm going to tell your Mama you got your costume wet!"

"No, you won't! Because you'll get in just as much trouble as me!"

The kid had a point. Crap.

Callie took three brisk steps towards the tub, reaching for the giggling blonde in front of her and just managed to grab her wrist as she dropped the ears promptly into the water, laughing her face off as she splashed the water and bubbles up to get Callie as soaked as she possibly could.

"You didn't!"

"I did!"

Trying her hardest not to laugh, Callie pulled her sleeve up and reached into the lukewarm water, pulling the cat ears out of the tub and flicked them against the tile in a feigned attempt at 'drying' them off.

"Mom! They're soaked. That won't work. Blow dryer!" Rolling her eyes, Callie couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's now incessant chanting of 'blow dryer' while she splashed around in the tub like the crocodile in Peter Pan.

Which, they watched last night.

Six times.

Shooting her an offhanded, goofy glare, Callie tossed the ears into the sink and knelt in front of the tub, wiggling her fingers to let Jules know she was about to be tickled.

As her eyes went wide and her nostrils flared, Callie knew she had her right where she wanted her. "Mom! You wouldn't! No tickling!"

"I so would! You're gonna get it little one, I told you not to get them wet. Now we're both dead meat!" Callie lunged at the blonde, digging her fingers into her neck and tummy and sides, pretty much wherever she could to make her squeal and writhe and flop around like a fish out of water.

God, she loved that kid.

"Mom! Mommy! CALLIOPE! No! I can't...I can't breathe! _Mom!_ Stop it. Please stop it!" Callie stared at her and laughed hysterically.

The kid was just barely (a week ago!) five years old, but picked up almost as soon as she could talk that 'Calliope' meant business. Sighing and pulling back with a goofy grin, Callie pushed away from the tub and stood with her hands on her hips.

"Are you done being a goof? Or," she wiggled her fingers once more. "Do I need to do it again?"

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! Please! I can't take the tickling!"

Chuckling to herself, she shook her head, rolling her eyes and walked over to the sink to assess the damage. The felt ears, sewn together by her girlfriend, were sopping wet. The 'fur' had clumped together in angry spikes.

Arizona's gonna be pissed.

Pulling the blow dryer from the sink and flicking it on, she waved the heat over the ears for a good three or found minutes, hoping that it would dry enough to be presentable – and unnoticeable from a certain other blonde.

When the burning smell began to permeate the room, she knew she was screwed.

"Shit!"

"You said a bad word! I'm gonna tell!"

"I'll just tell her that you got the ears wet while I was folding laundry and then we'll see who gets in more trouble."

"I'm five. I'm allowed."

Why they had to have such a smart freaking kid, she had no idea. Sometimes she didn't know where she picked up half the things she knew.

"I think you're too small for your brain."

"Maybe my _brain's_ too big for _me_!"

"Agree to disagree?"

"Whatever, Callie."

"That's what I thought. Now, are you gonna get out of there? You're all winkly and pruny. Which is so gross! And stop calling me by my first name."

"It's not gross. Uncle Mark says it happens when the body's seb...se...sebum goes away and lets all the water in. Not gross. Science, Mom!"

If this kid is this smart at five, they are _so_ screwed when she's fifteen. Yep. Totally screwed.

"Science _is_ gross, ya goof, but it's also really, really cool. And both your parents are really, really awesome at it. Now get out of there and get dried before we both get grounded."

"But Moooooom."

"No buts." Turning around and walking to the linen closet just outside the bathroom, she shuffled back in with the towel draped loosely over her arm, ready to wrap the tiny body in the big fluffy fabric.

Glancing quickly at her watch to make sure she had enough time to finish the laundry _and_ get Jules into her costume, she was completely unaware of the five year old standing in the tub with a look of sheer determination and glee written all over her face.

And then the little brat took a whole cup of water and threw it right at her head.

Callie looked up, her expression dropping in pure shock as her kid grabbed hold of herself in a wrap-around bear hug and cackled. Yes, _cackled_ at her little surprise.

"Oh, you are _so_ dead, kid."

"You shoulda seen your face, Mom! Priceless."

Just as Callie began to lunge for her daughter, they both heard the door close rather loudly.

Arizona was not in a good mood.

They both froze; Jules still with the purple cup in her hand, buck naked, hair messily trailing down her cheeks, neck and shoulders, and Callie, one hand outstretched, one ready to drop the towel so she could tackle the blonde and pull her into a bear hug. They both stopped dead in their tracks and looked each other square in the eyes.

Oh, shit. Mama's home.

Eyes wide and heart racing, Jules leapt into Callie's arms as she tugged her into the navy blue towel, sprinting to her bedroom. She knew she had a few moments while Arizona checked the mail - thank _God_ she was so predictable and Marine regimented. It may just have saved them.

Reaching for the second towel laying on her bed, Jules tugged it over her head and squeezed and blotted as quickly as she could, trying to get the excess water from her curls. Callie frantically dried her off, searching for any piece of clothing she could reach to tug over her body so it at least looked like they were _trying_ instead of goofing off in the bathroom.

The very sopping wet bathroom. With a bubble filled tub and water all over the floor. Soaking wet cat ears in the sink, the blow dryer hanging lifelessly over the counter.

They were so fucked.

* * *

Arizona knew that slamming the door was probably a little unnecessary, but this was shaping up to be the worst Halloween she'd had in years-and it hadn't even really begun.

Taking a deep breath and rolling her shoulders, she tossed her bag by the end table and eyed the stack of mail set neatly in the bowl.

Oh, she had Callie trained _so_ well.

Picking it up and thumbing through it, she came to a letter from the kindergarten and tugged it open, reading over the required list of school supplies for their big annual Thanksgiving Day festival...thing...that Arizona really couldn't deal with right now. Rolling her eyes and plopping the mail back in the bowl, she padded her way to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. She'd had a long ass day and all she wanted was to feel that rush of relief as the cool liquid ran down her throat.

Did she mention she was getting sick? Yeah, she was. She thought working with sick and dying kids was bad for colds and stuff. But, actually _having_ a kid? Easily a hundred times worse in the germ department.

Speaking of which, it was...quiet in the house. Much too quiet. Callie and Jules had so much fun together. Watching the two of them play was one of the most rewarding parts of being a mom. Her daughter adored Callie in every way shape and form, and coming home to hear cheerful giggles or her mini-me blabbering at the speed of light was literally her favorite thing in the whole world.

How had she never wanted one of these before?

Hands down the best decision she'd ever made. Aside from kissing Calliope Torres in that bathroom.

Smiling at the memory, and yet still feeling oddly suspicious of the quiet, she set her water down and snuck into the hallway, hoping to hear the two together. It was the perfect remedy to her super shitty day. That, and a bear hug from her daughter and a kiss from her girlfriend.

Best. Remedy. Ever.

Stepping past the ironing board propped up in the middle of the living room to get to the stairs, she couldn't help but be thankful that Callie was so amazing. She could smell the lingering scent of the fabric softener, so she'd done their laundry, she'd neatly pressed Jules's costume, and she'd even made dinner, which was on the bar top ready to be warmed up.

Best._Girlfriend_.Ever.

Creeping along the hall she could hear quiet whispers from her daughter's bedroom and she smiled sheepishly at what she could potentially walk in on. Getting a little eager, her foot hit a creaky spot in the hardwood and she froze, wincing dramatically and hissing at her misfortune.

"Shh Mom, she's gonna hear us," she heard her daughter 'whisper'. Which, she was very bad at.

"Jules, be quiet and put this shirt on."

Shirt on - wha? Hurriedly, she made her way the bathroom, thinking she'd flip the light switch on her way past, but stopping wide eyed at the ridiculous mess that was left there. She locked her jaw and rushed to Jules's room and what she saw made her heart burst into angry flames.

Callie kneeling on the floor with her back to the door, Jules between her, towels scattered around them, her messy blonde curls still sopping wet, one arm hanging out of one of Arizona's dark blue scrub tops, the other wiggling underneath it trying to find the hole, her head half out so just her eyes showed.

This was not the little girl in a cat costume she'd been promised she'd come home to.

Oh they were in _so_ much trouble.

"Calliope," she admonishes sharply, "What do you two think you're doing?"

"We're...uh," she shot her daughter a 'help me out here kid' look, scowling when the tiny blonde just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. A lot of help she was.

"I'm...she was cold and wet so I...was putting her PJ shirt on while I...iron her costume so she could put it on and be totally ready for you when you walked in the door. Which...you did...half hour early. So."

Arizona smirked, crossing her right ankle over her left and leaned against the doorframe as she quirked an eyebrow at her two troublemakers.

"Well, that _would_ be a good excuse...if I hadn't passed the soapy bathroom on my way in here."

"It was _her_ fault," Callie pointed dramatically at their daughter, who looked between her two mothers, trying to decide who's side she should get on to escape the most trouble.

"_Your_ daughter threw a cup full of water in my face when I tried to get her out of the tub." She smirked; this was going to be awesome. Shooting Jules a look of 'you're so gonna get it now,' she went on.

"_And_ I walked in on her with her ears on. And _then_ she dropped them into the water and _cackled_ after the fact. I was folding laundry. This is _so_ not my fault."

"Excuse me," Jules interrupted, shooting her mother an accusatory glare, "If you knew how to work a blow dryer, we'd be fine."

Callie turned her head so fast she's pretty sure she had whiplash. Why'd they let her learn to speak again?

"Oh, no no no, you are _not_ getting out of that this easily. I told you not to drop it in there. I told you to get out of the tub. And you shot back with some medical mumbo jumbo your uncle taught you about wrinkles and didn't get out. .Me." She turned to her girlfriend who had a...fumingly amused? expression all over her face. "Help me out here, did you _see_ the mess she made?"

"Wait, woah, woah, wait, wait." Arizona inquires, narrowing her eyes and holding a hand out in front of her. "She dropped _what_ in the tub?"

"I told you! I was doing laundry and she called out telling me she got her ears wet. So I went in and she was sitting there, grinning like an idiot, with those ridiculous cat ears on her head. And when I told her to take them off, she did that smirk you do _all_ the time at me, and freaking plopped them right into the water! I had nothing to do with it."

"Juliet Michele," Arizona seethed quietly, folding her arms over her chest and bending her knees to become eye level with her daughter. "Do you mean to tell me you dropped the cat ears that _I_ made for you into a tub of hot water?"

"Absolutely not, Mama." She closed her eyes with a firm nod, her tiny voice muffled from the shirt that was still covering her mouth.

Arizona shot Callie a death glare and Callie turned to look wide-eyed at their daughter.

The nerve!

Jules tugged the shirt down roughly and rushed forward to wrap her arms around Arizona's leg as she stood and squared her shoulders to her girlfriend. The little one looked up at Callie playfully, sticking her tongue out and giggled softly to herself while her Mama's attention was otherwise occupied. She knew how to play her mothers all too well.

Currently under the intense scrutiny of Arizona's gaze, Callie shivered a little despite being terrified of whatever came next.

Intense Arizona was ridiculously sexy.

Arizona stroked her daughter's hair absentmindedly without removing her glare from Callie's eyes.

Well, this sucked. Here she was, minding her own business, doing laundry, cooking them a nice dinner before trick-or-treating, trying to make things a little easier for when Arizona got home, getting their daughter ready and into the bath, and look where it had gotten her.

"Juliet," Arizona mumbles softly, unwrapping the tiny hands from the fabric of her pants. "Go downstairs and get your costume from the ironing board."

At the sound of tiny feet scrambling down the stairs, she stepped forward slightly closer to Callie and offered a tiny ghost of a smirk. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply and exhaling through her nose as she opened them slowly once again.

"Exactly how badly did she damage them?"

"They were felt. And she dropped them into the water for a good fifteen seconds before I could get my arm in there. She's such a brat. Totally _your_ kid."

"Why is she _my_ kid when she's bad, Calliope? And she's _your_ kid when she's a genius?" She mused, scooping up the wet towels from the floor and moving in the direction of the bathroom to further assess the damage done by her favorite girls.

Even when they were infuriating, she couldn't imagine trading them for anything.

"Arizona, she's _our_ kid. And she's the most amazing little pain in the ass girl I've ever met. I could never have _dreamed_ of how amazing she'd be. And I did a lot of dreaming." Callie sighed, and smiled, hoping that she could melt the blonde's heart a little with the sentiment. But mostly she just didn't wanna be in the doghouse. This _totally_ wasn't her fault.

Arizona smiled softly, a thin-lipped smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Well, dream about a mop and bucket, because that bathroom is probably a piece of work. And I'm not working." Tossing the towels into the hamper, she began to walk out of the bedroom with a shake of her lowered head. She definitely didn't need a big watery disaster to deal with right now.

Reaching out to stop Arizona from leaving, Callie tugged on her wrist and pulled her to a stop. She shuffled a little closer at the loud sigh escaped from the blonde's nose and took her firmly into her arms. She'd had a bad day. That much was very clear. And she felt a little awful for making it even a little bit worse. Nuzzling her nose into the crook of her neck, she placed a soft kiss on her cheek before pulling back just enough to look at her.

"I'm sorry that this all turned into a giant mess, I was trying really hard to make things a little easier for you when you got home, but. Yeah. I'm sorry. And you had a bad day, too. I can tell. Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really, no," she mumbled into Callie's hair, allowing the sweet, familiar scent to curl around her senses and calm her down. Slightly.

Callie's heart sank. This was way beyond just being in the doghouse. She was completely shutting her out. And that hurt, a lot. Especially when she'd spent the entire day taking care of Jules, doing everything around the house that she could think of _and_ cooked dinner. But she still felt like shit, and like the worst girlfriend in the world.

"Okay, well, sorry. I-I'll go and clean up the bathroom. Send Jules up with her costume and I'll take care of that too. There's dinner on the bar, just heat it up. I'll make sure every thing's taken care of." Dropping her head and stepping away from the blonde, she brushed past her and stepped out into the hall, wanting to get out of that room as quickly as she could.

"Calliope," she called out softly, making her stop in her tracks, not missing the pained expression in her girlfriend's eyes. She stepped into the hall toward her slowly, wrapping her arms around herself in a gesture of self-comfort.

"If I talk about my monstrosity of a day, I'll ruin Halloween. And I can't do that. Not when you've done everything perfectly. You know, except for the Great Flood. So just..." her voice broke over her next words, as her eyes rolled up to the ceiling to blink back her tears. She did _not_ need to cry. "Hold me?"

Standing firm and not backing down, Callie froze at the threshold of the door, bringing her left hand up to rub into her temple. She hated when Arizona got defensive and tried to hide from her. It was frustrating and painful and sometimes she just wished it were easier to get her to open up.

But, she loved her.

Turning around slowly and walking to her girlfriend, she extended her arms and tugged Arizona into her body with her fingertips before wrapping her arms tightly around Arizona's exhausted waist, dropping a gentle kiss to the top of her head as the blonde snuggled into her.

Arizona allowed her body to relax into Callie's comfortable embrace, sliding her hands under the soft material of her shirt and pressing her cold hands into the warm skin of Callie's stomach.

"So, she got you with the cup again, hm? Shouldn't you have figured her out by now?

"She _informed_ me, with correct medical terminology, with the cutest stutter ever, why exactly she had pruny skin. And the fact that it's not gross like I thought. She said, and I quote 'Not gross. Science, mom.' Can you believe our daughter, Arizona? What are we going to do with her when she's fifteen?"

Arizona pressed her face into Callie's chest, chuckling softly against the skin revealed by the deep V of her shirt. "We're going to lock her up and make sure she never, ever talks to Mark Sloan."

"Definitely. Now why don't you," she tugged Arizona a little closer and placed a few soft kisses along her jaw. "Go downstairs," along with a few firmer ones. "And heat up your dinner and I'll," dragging her bottom teeth and down along her neck, pushing in slightly and digging her fingers into her waist. "Take care of the bathroom and then," Arizona stiffened slightly and lulled her head to the side, aiming for a little more contact, running her own fingertips over the smooth skin of Callie's stomach. "We'll get our daughter dressed and ready for trick-or-treating." She punctuated her last suggestion with a gentle bite just below her ear and smirked when Arizona groaned softly.

"Maybe we should punish her. For the mess. And skip trick-or-treating. And go straight to bed."

"She'd probably catch onto your plan and stand in the doorway yelling our first names like last time. We should really get a lock on her door. I feel like I never get to," she looked over her shoulder and down the hall to make sure no little prying ears were in hearing distance. "Fuck you so hard you yell my name anymore. It's kinda...unsettling. I miss that sound you make too when I...with my...and then when you...and then with the headboard you...yeah. I miss that."

"_Fuck_, Calliope," she groaned in a whisper, wrapping her lips around her earlobe and nibbling softly. "How am I supposed to be a good parent when you're putting those ideas into my head?"

Humming softly against her neck Callie smirked. "I think they call it multitasking. And on-call rooms. And Uncles and Aunts. And Disney movies. And locked doors." She traced a wet line down Arizona's neck with her tongue, dipping into the crevice right above her collarbone before promptly attaching her lips to it with a firm kiss. When Arizona hissed and pushed her hips a little forward into Callie, she bit down roughly and tugged at her flesh.

"_Excuse me?_ You told me to get my costume. I got dressed all by myself. You're _supposed_ to be taking me treat-or-tricking, not doing that hocus pocus." The little blonde threw her hands in the air and huffed over-dramatically loud as she stomped down the hall with purpose. Shouting "Unbelievable!" every few steps just to make sure her mothers heard her.

Yep. Totally Arizona's daughter.

* * *

"What are we going to do about the ears?" Arizona pleaded desperately, circling her arms around Callie's waist and looking longingly at the retreating form of the unfinished costume.

"Well, remember _last_ year when she dumped milk all into the hood of her teddy bear costume? I planned ahead. I saw her playing with them last night, and _knew_ something was gonna happen to them. So, I made a second pair while she was still asleep. They're in your sock drawer."

"It's sexy when you plan ahead like that."

"I know, it usually gets me a happy ending at the end of the night, so I do it as often as I can, just because I'm awesome."

Arizona winked, stealing a quick kiss before stomping down the hall towards the stairs after their child.

"I'm ready to hear that meow you've been practicing, little lady!"


	2. Of Heartbeats & Soul Mates

**CHAPTER TWO**

**PART 2**

After a gleeful reunion with her cat ears, Jules Robbins bounced around the house hissing and growling and pouncing around all the furniture. She couldn't be a cute little fluffy, snuggly, _domestic_ black kitten. Nooo, not their daughter. She had to be a rabid, untamed, screeching alley cat.

Settling down for a quick dinner before little ghosts and goblins showed up at their door, Callie watched Arizona follow their daughter around the room. Scoffing and rolling her eyes and looking overall displeased with her costume.

Arizona wanted a girly-girl with pink tutus and ribbons and bows. But, no. She got a mini Calliope Torres in all her mini glory.

It figured. And she wasn't above pouting about it. "Rabid freaking cat, 'nooo not a kitten Mama, I have rabies!' All Callie's fault with her-"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you there babe. I can't help it she's too smart for her own good. She's your kid! You gave birth to the little brat. Look at her! She's you thirty years ago. No pouting." Callie rolled her eyes and went back to eating, glancing up over the rim of her glass to see Arizona's reaction.

She scoffed, looking at Jules with a playful glare.

"Thirty years ago, I would have been a peaceful, loving lap cat. Juliet is...is...a panther. On crack."

"Rabid alley cat, I think she called herself. But panther totally fits better. Especially with how stealthy she is when she sneaks her way into our bed without even waking us up. She's having a blast though, and at least it's...original."

"'Original' is the polite way of saying 'weird,' Calliope."

"Hey - I was 'original' when I was little. My whole life I've been that kid. I turned out okay. Even bagged myself a hot chick that gave me a gorgeous daughter. Not too shabby for a weird kid if you ask me."

"Forgive me for not being pleased with an evil, hissing alley cat in the house. You let her have too much candy."

"Actually, she hasn't had any candy. That was probably from the hot chocolate you got her so addicted to that she now tries to bargain for at every meal. Have you tried to reason with that kid? She's too freaking smart. She comes up with stuff I don't even think I know."

Arizona chuckled in agreement, scooping up the flash of black fur as she circled around them for at least the fiftieth time. She settled the squirming child into her lap, wrapping her arms around her and pressing her lips into her hair behind the cat ears.

"Why don't you love me like you love your Mom, kiddo?"

"Because she's funner. And," she shot the brunette a sheepish grin. "She's cuter. And she's got a hotter butt, like you tell her all the time."

"Well, I can't disagree with you there."

"Hey! What is with the blondes in this family and their obsession with my butt? Geesh."

Jules smiled brightly at Callie, wrapping her tiny fingers in the ends of Arizona's hair.

"If Mama says it, it's probably right." She leaned forward with wide, reverent eyes, whispering loudly behind her hand, her breath tickling Callie's cheek. "She knows _everything_."

Rolling her eyes and grinning over at Arizona as the little blonde hopped out of her lap and snarled in her mama's direction, Callie wondered how she had become so lucky. With everything she and Arizona had been through just talking about one day maybe having babies, here they were, seven years later with a gorgeous little girl, that wanted to be a freaking rabid animal for Halloween.

Arizona followed their daughter with her eyes as she hopped onto the back of the couch and promptly curled into a little ball to watch the _Planet Earth_ DVD she never let them take out of the player. Shaking her head and turning to face Callie, Arizona grinned and took a sip of her wine.

"When you dreamt about her, did you ever picture _that_?

Callie snorted a little into her glass and grinned like a freaking idiot. "She's _exactly_ what I pictured. Although, not so much the rabid cat thing. But obsessed with everything medical, being smarter than you and I combined, watching Planet Earth instead of Dora the Explorer? Her calling you Mama and running up to latch onto your leg when she got into trouble...all that I definitely pictured every single time. Oh, and the curls and dimples. Definitely those too."

"I have to admit she's a little...different that I thought she would be," Arizona murmured behind her wine glass, so as not to catch the attention of the riveted child. "But she is definitely something else. She's...perfect."

"She is. How did you think she'd be? I'm totally curious."

"Honestly?" She grinned, shaking her head a little as she stared at Juliet fondly. "I...expected the intelligence and the confidence. She's _our_ child. I just didn't really expect her to be so...vocal about it."

"Are you kidding me? You with your 'I'm right and I'm awesome' shpeals and you didn't expect her to be vocal about it? She's you through and through, honey. Do you not see it?"

"I have to say, I don't agree with you. She's a tiny Callie Torres in a tiny Arizona Robbins body."

"You're so full of it. We get along like best friends because we're complete opposites. And I can't get enough of her because she's you! And she's even more beautiful than you are, which I never thought was possible in a million years. She's...perfect."

Arizona smiled sweetly, a pleased gleam in her eye. "I'll take that as a backwards compliment."

"I love you, you know that? Even if you are the world's biggest dork."

"Mm, I know. I love you too."

"We should probably get going. Are you sure you're okay with staying here and handing out candy? You can totally come with us and Jules can wow you with her wining and dining skills. I swear that kid gets more candy by flashing those dimples you gave her than all of the other kids combined."

"I'll be fine. You two go." She sighed, circling the rim of her glass with her index finger softly. "I'm pretty sure I'll just cramp her style."

"Hey - why would you say that? You _are_ our style. You're definitely _my_ style. I want you to come so I can hold your hand when the kids jump out and scare the crap out of you. Or pull you into my arms when you get cold. You're worrying me, what's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

"It's just.." She began quietly, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling as she chose her words carefully. With a deep sigh she returned her gaze to Callie's concerned eyes. "She _plays_ with you. She throws bubbles and water at you and dances with you. I mean, yes, she cuddles with me while we watch her movies over and over again, but..." she trailed off, smiling at the sight of Jules yawning and stretching like a sleepy kitty after a nap. "She doesn't play with me."

"She thinks she annoys you sometimes," Callie sighed sharply and held out her index finger at Arizona's opening mouth. "You know when she jumps up and down and repeats herself a billion times in your face and it makes you want to just...scream?" Callie reached across the table to lace Arizona's fingers with her own. "She's a loud, opinionated kid that loves to learn and ask questions. Y'know, you only had your brother, but I had cousins and second cousins everywhere. I'm _used_ to that and she just...wants to be understood. And when you get annoyed with the incessant questions and the yelling, she doesn't think you want to play with her."

"I know, I know you're right," Arizona sighed quietly, placing her palms on the table to push herself up from her chair. Blinking back tears, she picked up her plate along with Callie's to take them into the kitchen. "But can we please talk about it after...after _we_ go trick-or-treating?"

Callie smiled so wide her cheeks started to hurt. "So, you'll come then? And I'll get to hold your hand and steal kisses like we used to before _she_ came along?" Callie shot her a wink, pulling her into her arms and leaning their foreheads together.

"Maybe," she murmured with a smile against Callie's lips as she felt her body being pressed into the kitchen counter, "You'll get to do a lot of things we used to do before _she_ came along."

Callie pulled back sharply from the embrace with a lazy grin and wide eyes. "Like...what kinds of things?"

"Like..." She moved her lips to Callie's ear, her voice low and gravelly with her sudden arousal. "That thing...that time on our anniversary...with the handcuffs?"

"Oh. Ya-yeah. _Those_ kinds of things." Her heart skipped half a beat and then began racing in her chest. "Why did we wanna have kids again? I miss the sex crazed honeymoon version of us."

"Mom! Other Mom!" The little voice carried from the next room, each word punctuated with her excitement. "We can't let all that candy rot! Let's GO!"

Arizona grinned, pushing away from the counter and into Callie's body lightly. "I think that's your answer."

"You coming with us? I really _really_ don't want to have to let go of you right now. And I want you to see how amazing our daughter is even when she doesn't have to be."

"Yes. I'm coming with you." She smiled, lacing her fingers through Callie's.

Her eyes lit up and she all but did a fist pump into the air. "Really?" Tugging Arizona in a little closer, she sighed into her neck and placed a soft, gentle kiss there. She pulled back and rushed over to pick up their daughter, tickling her. "Your Mama said she was gonna come, Jules! You have everything ready, baby?"

"Really?" Jules cheered, removing her arms from around Callie's neck and extending them to Arizona, bouncing up and down in her impatience to be held by her other mother. "You want to come with me?"

Arizona firmly grabbed her under her arms and wrapped her in an embrace, giggling as Jules clung to her with every limb like a monkey. "Do you want me to come with you, kiddo?"

"I do! A bunches!" She pulled back from the hug to tug a little on a few of Arizona's curls with a big grin on her face before getting wide eyed, just like Callie always did, before leaning in and peppering her face with sloppy, wet kisses. When Arizona laughed, Jules threw her arms around her mother's neck once again and buried her face into her hair.

Arizona smiled and closed her eyes, pulling her head back to touch her nose to Juliet's, looking her in the eyes and whispering, "I bet I can get more candy than you can."

"What! Nut uh! _I'm_ the master. You're goin' down, Mama. So far down to downtown you'll," she scrunched her little face up in contemplation. "You'll...get lost! Yeah! You can't get more candy than me."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," she grinned, letting Jules hop down to the floor and slid her hands into her back pockets. "Do you have everything ready?"

"Uuuuuuh. No. I have to get my tail! Will you help me find it, Mama? Please, please, pretty pretty please? I can't go out there without my tail! Tails are what make cats land on their feet when they fall! And if I don't have it I'll fall and land on my face and get it all dirty and scratchy! I won't be a cat cuz I won't land on my feet. But I can't remember where mine is." Rushing over to Arizona's leg, she tugged steadily and continuously on her pants. "Please, please, pleeeeeease help me Mama?"

Arizona shot Callie one of those 'your daughter is driving me crazy' looks, but closed her eyes and breathed deeply to calm her frazzled nerves; it wasn't Juliet's fault she'd had such a bad day. She tugged her fingers through the soft blonde curls and smiled.

"Why don't you go ahead and look for it, and I'll be up to help you after I get our coats."

She gave her a quick nod with slightly raised eyebrows, the look that Juliet had come to know not to question. As she skipped up the stairs, meowing loudly, Arizona rubbed her temples and closed her eyes, counting backwards from ten over and over in her head and actively avoiding Callie's pointed stare.

Without so much as a word, as soon as Juliet could be heard throwing things around in her room, Callie walked forward and pulled Arizona into her arms and held on for dear life. Running her fingernails gently over her back, Callie whispered 'shhh' over and over in her ear. She loved that little girl to death, but at five thirty in the evening after three night shifts in a row, Arizona had to be exhausted, and probably not in the mood to deal with the excessive perkiness Jules seemed to exhibit up until the second she passed out. And Arizona wondered where she got it.

"I'll go talk to her about being a little less...you, while you get our coats, okay? This'll be fun, I promise. And when we get home, I'll rub your shoulders just the way you like it. For as long as you want me to. Deal?"

"No," she sighed, shaking her head from side to side slowly. "Don't...don't talk to her. She's not doing anything wrong, I'm just _so_ tired and I caught her cold from last week and my fuse is short. I'll just...go upstairs and help her find the freaking tail like she begged me to and then we'll head out."

"Are you sure? You've earned a break, she and I can go and you can take a long bath and then tomorrow we can all start fresh and relaxed. It's up to you."

"I'm going," she replied shortly, but smiled softly in apology and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek before making her way to the stairs, stepping heavily with each upward motion. She could hear Juliet moving frantically around her bedroom and just _knew_ she was about to walk into a disaster, but even that knowledge couldn't prepare her for the sight that met her eyes.

Nearly every piece of clothing and all of the toys and books located in the pastel green room were strewn about the floor and across the bed, and what appeared to be a pair of pajama pants were inexplicably hanging from the highest shelf. Arizona hated to be one of _those_ mothers, but she was a firm believer in "everything in its place," and Juliet seemed to have inherited yet another of Calliope's traits that could, quite frankly, bug the hell out of her. Things in a state of disarray in Arizona's physical world drastically affected her state of mind, and not in a good way. She needed Callie, before she completely lost it.

As Juliet held the long, black tail over her head triumphantly, her eyes shining brightly, Arizona offered a weak smile and took a shaky breath before staggering backwards through the door, hurrying to the top of the stairs and closing her eyes.

"Calliope!"

Stopping dead in her tracks as she placed the jackets on the couch, she ran at the frantic call of her girlfriend. She knew that voice. Both she and her daughter knew that voice. Arizona was about to lose it, and the faster she got there, the faster she _may_ be able to salvage the next two or three days.

Standing at the bottom of the steps panting, she looked up to the top of the stairwell to see if she'd actually need to climb them, and immediately took notice of the fumes searing out of Arizona's ears.

Oh, shit.

Tripping and falling over herself in an effort to get up the wooden steps, Callie came to a dead halt in front of her girlfriend before pulling her into a tight hug. It would placate and calm her just enough so she could formulate words instead of storming off and slamming a door and hiding out for the rest of the night.

"Honey, breathe, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Clothes. Books. Toys. No floor. Can't...I can't, Calliope."

Arizona pulled away from the hug, on the verge of tears for the third time since coming home from work. She sniffled once, trailing her fingers up and down Callie's arms.

"I don't want to disappoint her. But if I go with the two of you, I will pull all of my hair out. I really need a break."

"Okay, go lie down and I'll be in in a minute, don't worry about this, not for a second, do you understand?"

She ducked her head and let it fall against Callie's shoulder, nodding and pulling back to rush down the hall to their bedroom, furiously wiping the tears from her face.

Callie sighed as her heart broke just a tiny bit. Never did she once doubt that Arizona had wanted to go, she doubted, perhaps, that she _should_ go, but now she had to go put out fire number one before dealing with Arizona. Jules was going to be crushed.

Padding her way down the hallway, Callie took a deep breath as she came to her daughter's room, wincing as she got the courage to actually see what kind of a mess they were dealing with.

"Jules...wow...what did...you know how your Mama feels about messes, why did you destroy your nice clean room, sweetie?"

Shaking her butt with its attached tail from side to side in a little dance, Callie couldn't help but laugh and walk in to scoop up their little monster. "Mom! I couldn't find my tail. I looked everywhere and I still couldn't find it. So I looked again because Mama always tells me that it's always in a place you've already looked. And then I kept looking and finally I found it under my quilt because I remembered I fell asleep with it on. But I found it! Look, Mom!"

"I'm glad you found it, Jules." Sitting down on the bed and propping her up a little on her knee, Callie turned to face her daughter. "You remember when we went to the hospital and you saw Mama really sad? And I told you about how sad her job is because her favorite patients sometimes have to go away and can't come back to play with her?"

Her eyes widened as she looked up into Callie's eyes, curling her fingers around her shirt and pulling the material into her fist. "Yes. I remember."

"And remember how I told you when she gets sad she thinks about you and worries that you'll get hurt and end up in the hospital too?"

Jules sighed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "I wish she wouldn't worry about me. Cats have nine lives, Mom."

Sighing and pulling her daughter into a bear hug, Callie felt the well of tears as they attempted to push their way to the surface. _This_ was Arizona's daughter. And she was head over heels, madly in love with her.

"It's our job to worry about you, it means we love you very, very much." When the blonde began to squirm a little under the pressure around her waist, Callie chuckled and let her go. "Mama is really tired and really sad today. She worked very hard all week. Do you think it'd be good if we let her stay home tonight while we go out and get wild and crazy?"

Jules shuffled her right foot back and forth, blowing out of the side of her mouth to get a curl out of her eyes. "Will she feel better if I give her a kiss?"

"I bet she'd love that, baby. We have a few minutes, why don't you run into our bedroom and snuggle with her for a bit while I clean up your room. And then when we get home, you can tell her all about how much candy you got and all the cool decorations and costumes you got to see, okay?"

"Okay! But not too long, Mom. You know all the good candy goes first," she whispered darkly before propelling herself off Callie's lap, skipping towards the door.

"Hey! Jules, wait a second." Callie stood up and walked to the door before the blonde came barreling into her legs.

"Moooooom. What?" She huffed impatiently, bouncing back and forth from foot to foot.

"Your Mama loves you a whole bunch, you know that don't you? A whole, whole bunch, right?"

She grinned, nodding excitedly. "She loves me so much, Mom. I can tell when she says my name."

"What do you mean?"

"You knooow," she drawled, rolling her eyes upward and shoving her tongue into the side of her mouth before returning her eyes to Callie's. "How she says 'Juliet' instead of 'Jules.' And how she says 'Calliope.' She loves us too big for nicknames."

"Oh my God, I love you so much." Lunging for Jules and picking her up and peppering her face with a thousand kisses, she let one tiny tear escape, which Jules kissed away and wiggled in her arms to be let down. "Never ever forget how much we do, babygirl. Now scoot."

Sighing and smiling softly, Callie ran her fingers through her hair and assessed the disaster zone that had become Jules' bedroom. Leaning over, she shuffled around as quickly as she possibly could in hopes of making it out of the house before the stupid thing was over in the first place. She needed to get home so she could take care of Arizona.

* * *

Arizona lay sprawled out on their bed in their darkened room with a pillow over her face, counting the rotations of the fan overhead as it eased the dull ache that resided between her eyes. This had officially been the _worst_ day, ever, and all she wanted to do was snuggle into Callie's arms and watch their daughter trick-or-treat. But she just...didn't have anything left. As much as it broke her heart, she knew if she were going to be home alone all day with Jules tomorrow, she'd need an ounce of relief, if not for her sanity, to rid herself of the headache that refused to budge.

She couldn't help the inescapable fear that she would hurt her daughter by not spending Halloween night with her, but she hoped that by taking these few hours to herself, blissfully _alone_, she'd be able to more than make it up to her tomorrow.

Hearing the door slowly creak open, Arizona froze, wondering, _hoping_ that Callie had come in to snuggle with her for a few minutes before they had to leave. But she had to smile at the shuffling of tiny toes as they carefully made their way over to the bed. She smirked softly under the pillow at the lift at the bottom of the comforter, and then the weight shift of the tiny body as it climbed under the covers. Climbed, as in, crawled all the way under them before stopping right next to her, waiting to see if Arizona would move or look out at her or yell at her...

When she received no response, Jules twisted her tiny face in contemplation as to what her next move should be. Her eye brows shot up when she came upon the perfect plan. Reaching under the covers with her little hand, so poked Arizona right in the side in her ticklish spot and whispered to her softly. "Mama, wake up..."

Arizona exhaled softly, pulling the pillow more closely to her face, knowing that it would slightly scare her little girl.

Reaching over and slowly lifting the pillow from her mother's face, Jules smiled when Arizona shot her a lopsided grin. Knowing her Mama got headaches when she had a bad day, instead of talking, she leaned over, placed a tiny kiss onto her nose, and settled onto the bed, resting her head on Arizona's chest, her right ear pressed up to her heart, pulling Arizona in with her little arms as tight as she could.

With silence finally killing the little girl, she reached her finger over to her other shoulder and tapped in rhythm with her mother's heartbeat, whispering. "Mama, I'm sorry I was loud," she lifted her head a little to see if she received any responses or recognition. "I decided I want you to stay and snuggle in bed while Mom and I go get lotsa candy. I promise I'll bring you back a bunch if you can be soft and quiet."

Arizona chuckled softly, brushing a kiss across Juliet's head. "That is so very sweet of you, baby."

"Mama? I wish I didn't have to go. I missed snuggling here with you before bedtime when you were working very hard. But I think Mom would be really sad if we both didn't go."

Arizona grinned, running her fingers up and down Juliet's back. "Well, I think you should go. You know...for Mom."

Their eyes met, and they shared a sneaky smile.

"Halloween is her favorite, huh?"

"Well, for a long time her favorite was Christmas, but it changed to Halloween about...five years ago. I think it had something to do with a very, very precious little girl who loves to wear Halloween costumes."

"That's me! I love costumes! I like them to be un...ewi..unique...like me, Mama. What did you dress up as when you were little like I am?"

Arizona lifted herself up by her elbows and fluffed the pillows behind her head, patting the pillow next to her to invite Jules to join her. She scrambled into her mother's embrace, resting her head on Arizona's shoulder while she twirled the tiny blonde curls.

"Well, one year, I think when I was...five, or maybe six...I wanted to dress up as a black cat. But I think I might have been a much sweeter one than _someone_ I know."

"But...pet cats are boring. Alley cats are different. Like, me...I'm different than all the kids at school. So. I picked the alley cat so that nobody would confuse me with the other cats."

"Being different is..." Arizona paused, squeezing Jules a little closer. "It's _okay_. You're the only little one I'll ever want, just the way you are. Okay?"

"But Mama, I am too loud and too jumpy when I forget you took care of the sick kids all day. And then you get sad and I feel yucky about it because I like your smile. I have nine lives so, I won't be one of those kids. I promise and pinky swear too."

Arizona squinted one eye, giving her daughter a playful smirk, and held out her pinky firmly to hook securely around the tiny one being presented to her. "Sounds good to me." She used her grip on the little hand to pull her into her lap, wrapping her arms tightly around the squirmy body.

"I love you, Juliet."

"I know, Mama. Cause I can feel it when you smile at me. Can I ask you a question?"

"Always."

"Promise you won't tell?"

"You know I won't."

"Yes huh! You tell Mom my secrets sometimes and then she teases me and tickles me. Pretty please don't tell?"

She smiled, gazing down into big, imploring blue eyes. "I promise."

"How's come you love my Mom so much? I watch you and you always get smilier when she hugs you tight and not so sad anymore. How does she do that? Because I wanna do that when you're sad too. Why Mama, why do you love her so much like you love me?"

"I love your Mom so much because..." she began, but shook her head and closed her eyes, changing her mind. "She makes me...smilier...when I'm sad, because she doesn't make me tell her why I'm crying. She just hugs me and helps me cry. And I love her like I love you," she poked her lightly on the end of her nose, eliciting a breathy giggle, "because when _you_ hug me, I don't have to cry. You work like a team to make me happy. But most of all, I love your Mom because she's the one who wanted you so badly, she made me see how much I wanted you too."

Juliet cocked her head to the side and looked at her mother in confusion, popping both her dimples out as she tried to figure out what exactly she wanted to say. "But. Why did she need to make you? You didn't want me?"

Arizona smiled sadly, lacing her fingers as much as she could through Juliet's much smaller fingers.

"You know how sometimes the sick kids at the hospital can't come play with me anymore, and that makes me sad?"

"Yes, because you miss them, right?"

"Well...yes. But...those sick kids are different because when they go away, their parents miss them a lot too. And sometimes the parents get so sad because their little kid can't play with them anymore, that they stay sad for a very very long time. Do you understand?"

"Because those little kids die and it makes their parents really hurt inside?"

"Yes," she replied cautiously, "Exactly. So, because a lot of my sick kids have to go away, I have to see a lot of their very, very sad parents. And when your Mom wanted to _be_ a parent with me, I was so afraid you might have to go away that I thought it would be too hard for me."

"What did you do?"

"Well, I let your Mom knock some sense into me," she chuckled, sharing a knowing look with the small child, "and I decided that all of the sad in the world couldn't feel worse than never getting to know my loud, messy, beautiful little girl who's amazing enough to dress as an alley cat for Halloween."

Scooting over to press a sloppy kiss on Arizona's cheek, Jules jumped up, placing her hands on her mother's shoulders with a stern, focused look. "Mama?"

She raised her eyebrows slightly, giving her an amused, "Yes?"

"I love you, a bunches times a bunches. But I gotta go and trick-or-treat with Mom or she'll be sad and mopey. So. I'm gonna go do that and then I'll come back and we can snuggle and I'll share some of my candy with you. Does that sound okay to you?"

Arizona laughed and then sighed dramatically, letting her head fall back into her pillows.

"I guess...if you _have_ to."

But she lifted her head and gave Juliet a tiny wink, letting her know that she would be fine without her for a few hours.

"Mama?"

"Yeah?"

"Bye!" She lept off the bed in one giant, little-kid-sized stretch and landed promptly on her feet, turning around with the proudest grin Arizona had ever seen. "See Mama? It's the tail! I landed on my feet because I found my tail!" And then turned right back around, sprinting out the door.

Only, little did she know, Callie had come looking for her twenty minutes before and was standing outside the doorway listening to them chat and bond. While she was lost in her dreamy reminiscence of how amazing the two most important people in her life were, the littler one barreled into her legs with a loud 'Omph' and recoiled, landing flat on her butt.

"Mooooom! You made me miss my feet and hit my butt!"

Callie chuckled and helped her up, swatting her on the behind. "Go run downstairs and put your jacket on and get your flashlight and candy bag. I'll be down in three seconds. Ready? On your mark...get set...hurry hurry hurry!"

Watching as Jules slipped and slid down the hardwood floor before stopping completely at the top of the stairs, knowing her Mama's disdain for running when she could fall and hurt herself, she stood tall, back straight, placed her little left hand on the railing, and regally walked step by step, stomping loudly on each one.

"Did she stop at the steps like I've told her to a thousand times?"

"Yes, of course she did. She's very aware of not wanting to get hurt so she doesn't make you sad, honey." Walking into the darkness of their bedroom, Callie lifted the covers and shuffled over, pulling Arizona into her arms and placed a soft kiss by her temple.

"Mmm, I missed you, Arizona."

"Mmm. I missed you too, Calliope...but shouldn't you be outside trick-or-treating with Juliet so you can come home to me sooner?"

"Well, I figure, she'll fumble around with the arm holes for a good three minutes before running up here and needing help. And I missed out on a half hour of snuggle time with you and our daughter, but I like three minutes alone with my favorite girl better."

"_Any_ number of minutes alone with you sounds pretty amazing right now."

"So, you wanna tell me what all that chatter was about in here? You two seemed pretty cozy for how bad of a headache you had from her huge mess. Which, I cleaned up by the way, good as new."

Arizona smiled widely, sliding her hand under Callie's shirt to drag her nails up and down her stomach. "That was your daughter, being exactly like her mom. Amazing, supportive, _gorgeous_...and the love of my life."

"Mmm. So...you and she..." She sucked in a shaky breath. "A-Arizona your h-hand...you gotta...you...can't...oh God." Closing her eyes and setting her jaw in firm determination, she took her left hand and found Arizona's, promptly picking it up off her bare skin, and then allowing it to flop on the blonde's hip. Because any farther north and they would definitely _not_ be trick-or-treating. "You two, uh, you kissed and made up then?"

"You could say that," she smiled softly. "We always do."

"She loves you so much. You should see the way her face lights up when she talks about you. It makes me love you both ten thousand times more than I already do every single time." Smiling and placing a soft kiss on Arizona's forehead, she tugs her a little closer, just relishing in a few moments of silence with her amazing girlfriend wrapped up so tightly in her arms.

"Ladies," the commanding voice interrupted from the open door. "I am not getting any younger. Mom. Let's go."

* * *

Closing the door behind her and releasing a deep, long sigh, Callie watched as Jules stumbled into the house like she'd done a few too many shots at Joe's. The kid was _exhausted_. And when she was exhausted, she got cranky. And when Jules got cranky, _everyone_ knew about it.

Running into the family room, throwing her coat on the floor as she went, she spotted her mom, sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace with a book she'd been putting off reading, her feet propped leisurely on the coffee table in front of her. Jules looked at her mother with wide, yet droopy eyes, and threw herself over her legs in an exasperated huff.

"Too much trick-or-treating, kiddo?" She grinned, pulling the limp child into her lap and placing the book gently onto the table in front of them.

"I don't wanna talk about it." She said, burying her face into Arizona's neck and sighing as the blonde rubbed slow circles along her back.

"Did something...happen?" Arizona questioned with amusement, looking over Juliet's head to Callie standing across from them and desperately trying to hold back her laughter.

"Ask..._her_ if you wanna know so bad."

"_Juliet._ That was disrespectful, and you don't want to hurt your mom's feelings, now apologize to her for being rude."

"But. _She's_ the one who was rude to me! I wanted to go to one more house and she said no. And said she'd take my candy away if I threw one more fit. No sorries from me."

"Juliet Michele Robbins. I'm sure that that attitude is neither needed nor appreciated. Apologize to your mother."

"No. May I _please_ go to my room and go to sleep?"

"Being polite _now_ won't make up for it."

"I just want to go to bed. Let me go to bed, Mama. _Please!_"

Arizona narrowed her eyes, making Juliet sit up and look at her properly. "_No._"

Glaring at her mother, Juliet placed her tiny hands on Arizona's shoulders and gave a light shove and tried to squirm out of her grasp. "Yes! Let me go!"

Arizona held her gaze steadily for a few moments before loosening her grip on her daughter's waist and sighing softly. "Alright then, go. But you know how I feel about this, and I am not pleased."

Callie took that moment to step in slightly to be the peacekeeper. She wanted to spend a nice relaxing evening with Arizona, and she wanted Jules in bed asleep so she wasn't a pain in the ass in the morning too. "Honey, she's just tired, we walked really far. It's really okay just this once, okay? I'll take her upstairs."

Arizona nodded, averting her eyes from both of them. "Fine. But I'm taking away your candy until you apologize properly to your mother in the morning. Goodnight, Juliet."

It was so _not_ fine.

"What! No! It's mine! I walked all over the world for it. You can't take it, Mama!" She cried, giving Arizona another little shove in the arm when she tried to tighten her grasp slightly.

Jules was pissed.

Arizona huffed in exasperation, shooting Callie a pleading look. She needed to go to bed, before she managed to dig herself into an even deeper hole.

Taking cue from Arizona's glances, Callie walked over to the couch and extended her arms out in front of her daughter, pulling her into her body and snuggling her closely as she rubbed circles on her back to soothe the blubbering child. With a deep sigh, she turned to Arizona and sent her a soft smile and shrugged her shoulders, reaching out with her right hand to brush her fingertips along her cheek as she walked by.

Arizona smiled softly and placed her hand over Callie's brushing fingers as they swept over her cheek, attempting to savor the feeling of Callie's touch. She regretfully watched her carry Juliet up the stairs, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at the tiny snores already echoing in her direction.

Twenty minutes later, Callie softly came down the steps, clad in her PJs, and lugging a quilt from the chest at the foot of their bed. "She's fast asleep, and I want nothing more than to crawl under this blanket and hold you as close as I possibly can and never ever let go. Scooch over."

Arizona grinned and tucked her legs beneath her, creating more space for Callie to curl up next to her. She hooked her arm around the back of the couch, lazily playing with the soft hair spayed across Callie's shoulder.

"I've missed you so much this week. C'mere and snuggle with me."

Arizona sighed gratefully, allowing the weight of her head to pull her forward and settle against Callie's chest, wrapping her in a warm embrace and playing with the soft skin that peeked out from the side of her shirt. "I have missed you more than you even know."

"I'm sorry about earlier. She was so excited and we pushed things a little too hard. I didn't mean to stress you out."

"No, Calliope, don't be sorry," she stated quietly, shaking her head against Callie's body. "I _know_ her. I came home to the same thing I come home to on most nights. It's not her fault, or yours, it just happens sometimes."

"Maybe we should see the Chief about switching our schedules again so that I can work some nights and you can stay home with her during the day. I know she'd really love that. I'll talk to him tomorrow when I go in, okay?"

"Would she, though?" Arizona replied, somewhat insecurely. "Would she really love that? You're...funner. And apparently, I make her feel bad."

"What do you mean you make her feel bad? She adores you, what's wrong with you?"

"She thinks she doesn't make me happy, Calliope," she admits sadly, allowing the tears to cloud her vision. "She makes me feel..._ everything _, but I am always the bad cop and she thinks when I'm sad, it's because she's too loud or too bouncy or too...Juliet."

"Baby, she just worries about you. Because you worry about her. She's got your big heart and she knows how much you love all those kids, and knows how sad it makes you when you lose one. She just wants to make you smile when you come home looking like you've lost another kid. That's just who she is. She wants to see the people she loves smiling. She _adores_ you, Arizona.

"And I _love_ all of those things about her, and I know that she loves me, too," she agreed, pulling back from the embrace and looking earnestly into Callie's eyes. "I just...sometimes, I feel like...you know, you have this bond with her. You have these games and secrets and I'm afraid I won't get to have those things with her. The shorthand ways of speaking to each other and the handshakes and all of that."

"Do you remember when we first started dating, and I got so mad at you for thinking it was awesome that George joined the army?" She sighed, pausing for Arizona's acknowledgment before continuing. "You gave me that speech about your brother. But it was the first time I'd heard about him, or any member of your family since we'd started dating. Do you remember what you said to me before you tried to walk away?"

She grinned, blushing slightly at the memory. "I told you... 'That's who I am.'"

"You did. And I'm madly in love with who you are. But - that was the first time I knew something that huge about you and we'd been dating for a good three months. You do this thing, you...withhold parts of yourself because you think you're protecting the people you love from experiencing any of your pain by tucking it away. I got inside of you and tucked my heart right next to yours, so I understand you and love you for _all_ of you. I've learned how to help you and to make you feel safe. But it wasn't without struggle, okay?"

Arizona sighed, leaning her head onto Callie's shoulder. "You're _so_ amazing, but...I don't really get what this has to do with our daughter not loving me as much."

"I wear my heart on my sleeve, Arizona. We both know that. It's...for better or for worse...it's who I am. But you, you don't. You wear your emotions all over your face, but you don't wear your heart there. You protect it from the world. She's trying to...figure out how to worm her way into your heart like I did. When she asked you how I get you to stop being sad by hugging you - that was her asking you how she can do the same. She _wants_ to be there for you and love you endlessly, but you keep her at a distance to protect her. And she can feel that."

"But I don't _want_ to keep her at a distance, it's just that...don't all parents do that? Hide the things their kids shouldn't have to understand, because they're too young? She shouldn't have to understand why my job makes me come home at night, too sad and stressed to play with her."

"But she does need to understand that, sweetie. Don't you get it? She sees you exhausted and hurting and tired and sad and she doesn't know why. She's five! And she's so in love with you and she's so empathetic and loving _just like you_ that she _needs_ to understand so she can try to make it better. And all she knows is that when she's loud you run off into another room, or when she's so giddy to see you because she misses you so much when you're gone, you are just ready to collapse into bed. She thinks it has something to do with her. And she doesn't want to cause you more pain. So _she_ protects you in the best way she knows how."

"Calliope," she whispered, her voice breaking softly. "I appreciate you talking this through with me, I really do, but you're only proving my point."

"How am I doing that? I'm trying to show you how much she loves you and wants to have the things she has with me with you but you don't let her because you block yourself off from her! Just like you did when we first started dating. Only she didn't sign up for this, we brought her into it, so, she's struggling. I grew to love you - she was _born_ loving you."

"Yes," she conceded sadly, her voicing jumping half an octave. "But you're pointing out all of the ways _you_ love me, and how much _she_ loves me, but mostly you're reaffirming my belief that I still don't know how to be a good mother!"

By this point, her voice had become a little more shrill, and she could no longer stand to sit still. She jumped up from her position next to Callie, choosing instead to pace the length of the coffee table in front of them.

"I love her, I adore her, I _need_ her so much that it hurts sometimes. Every time I go into surgery with a little girl, she has blonde hair and blue eyes and dimples and knows most of the words in the dictionary. I _always_ miss her when she's not there, and I can't even put into words how good it feels when she wraps her whole body around me the way she does. And it _kills_ me to know that both of you can see how much I don't know how to express it properly! Not like you can."

Standing up and swiftly reaching Arizona, Callie stopped her pacing and pulled her into a bear hug, burying her face in the crook of her neck as gentle tears streaked paths down her cheeks. Her heart hurt so badly, every single piece of her soul ached to make this better for Arizona. She'd give her the handshakes and the 'You wouldn'ts', and even the secrets Jules told her about things she'd noticed about Arizona every second she got to spend with her. That's what their secrets were about; Callie was teaching Jules how to love Arizona. And she would give it all up in a heartbeat if it meant taking away Arizona's anguish over all of it.

In a heartbeat.

Arizona sniffled quietly into Callie's chest, gripping the fabric of her shirt tightly in her fists and chuckling softly at the action; Juliet did the same thing when she cried.

"I just want her to come running to _me_ when _you_ piss her off sometimes. And not just tonight, that was a fluke."

Shaking her head and feeling her heart twinge in pain once more, Callie grabbed Arizona's arm and tugged her back to the couch, pulling her back into her arms and tucked the quilt around her torso. "You wanna know what the difference between when she comes running to me and when she comes running to you is?"

Arizona smiled, burrowing her nose into Callie's neck. "Yes. I do."

"She has nightmares, Arizona. Just like you do. The difference between when she runs to me and when she runs to you is, she runs to you when she's scared. When she has bad dreams. When she _needs_ her _mother_. She clambers down the hall at full speed and she rushes to _your_ side of the bed and crawls under _your_ blanket and into _your_ arms. She may come running to me when you piss her off, but that's because she knows I can't yell at her and I'm the fun one that'll dry her tears and hold her tight and tickle her so that she laughs and smiles instead of cries. She comes running to you when she's scared because you're the one she knows will protect her from whatever it is that plagues her, that scares her. She knows you'd _die_ for her."

Arizona choked back a sob and wrapped her arms around Callie's neck. "I love you _so_ much, Calliope Torres, and I am so grateful that you're going to raise that perfect baby girl with me."

"Arizona, we...we're two drastically different people. We both knew that going into this relationship. But that also means we're different kinds of mothers. I'm fun because I wear my heart on my sleeve and can't keep secrets from her to save my life. We giggle and laugh and tell each other jokes because it's fun! If I'm sad and she asks why, I tell her, because she's a freaking genius, she knows when I'm lying and calls me out on it! I can't even lie to a five year old!"

"Oh, Calliope," she giggled, rubbing the pad of her thumb across Callie's bottom lip. "That's one of the things I have always loved most about you." She bit her lip sheepishly, glancing up at Callie through long eyelashes.

"So...if we asked the Chief for a small change in our schedules...do you think Juliet would be okay with that?"

"I think she would jump up and down and squeal and run around in circles with that. She _loves_ spending time with you, last night when you were in bed together? Did you see her face? How she looked at you with those big blue eyes and just...stared at you?"

"Yeah," she whispered, smiling and closing her eyes. "I think it's always going to be a little unsettling, being at the center of someone's universe."

"Honey, you've been the center of her universe since the day they put her in your arms. That child is every single thing inside of you that I'm so desperately in love with. And _that's_ why she and I get along so well, because _we_ get along so well. You...you're on a whole different playing field than I am."

"You're her mom, Calliope; she is definitely _just_as wrapped up in you. If not more so."

Sighing, and dropping her eyes to her Arizona's fingers playing at the hem of her shirt she took a deep breath and gave herself the extra amount of courage it would take to say this. Something she'd never once admitted to anyone but herself before.

"Yeah, but you're her _Mama_, Arizona, because you protect and love and nurture her. She loves you _so_ much. She loves you more, even, because you're her _Mother_. You gave birth to her. _I..._didn't. So I had to work twice as hard to form that kind of a bond with her. And my heart on the sleeve? That helped me a little bit. But that little girl...God. She makes me want to cry every time she looks at you, she's _that_ in love with you."

"But, how do you know? She may look at me like that, and I feel it, I really do, but she still doesn't want to...do things with me that are important or fun for her. I feel like I'm failing her because I'm not the fun one and she's one of those kids that _craves_ the fun time. And the parent who can give that to her."

"Are you asking me how I know that she's madly in love with you, Arizona?

"Yes. I need you to explain it to me. I need...I need you to _show_ me."


	3. Of Passion & Profession

**CHAPTER TWO**

**PART THREE**

Grabbing Arizona's wrist and pulling it up to face both of them, Callie took it and ran her thumb across the small birthmark just to the side of her forearm. "That birthmark right there? I remember the day she was born, the first time I saw her, when you made me rush over to her bassinet to make sure she was perfect. While they were weighing her, she wasn't crying like every other baby I've ever seen, she was lying on that scale and looking at everyone around her with those huge blue eyes. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life. And then she flung her little arm out when I walked up closer to her, and I saw the birthmark. In the exact same spot as yours. Shaped like a four leaf clover. You gave her that birthmark, and she'll have that for the rest of her life."

She traced it a few more times with her thumb and smiled at Arizona, who was on the brink of tears. "You are her mother, Arizona. You carried her for nine months, you gave her your big blue eyes, your deep dimples, ones so deep that they even pop out when you're angry or thinking, they're i_always_/i there. You gave her your big heart and your soft skin, that birthmark on her arm and the same one that's on the back of your neck to the side of your ear. You gave her i_two_/i birthmarks. Who has two? You gave her those ridiculously untamed blonde curls and even your goofy grin. None of those things are going anywhere, baby. Not one. You are stamped all over that little girl. How could you not see that?"

"I do see i_those_/i things, Calliope," she smiled and laughed once, wiping a tear away as it trickled down her cheek. "Just i_looking_/i at her makes me so proud I feel like I could explode sometimes. And when she looks at i_me_/i...I can feel how proud she is of me too. And I know that she's i_mine_/i, that she's i_ours_/i. But I...sometimes I feel that, given the choice...I just need her so much, and I don't always feel that she needs i_me_/i."

"That's actually...so far from the truth it's painful. She...when she comes into our room and calls for us when she's had a bad dream, it's usually pretty easy to talk her down. You sleep like a rock, but I can hear her in the doorway shifting from side to side trying to figure out if she should wake us or not. She's i_so_/i loud, even when she's quiet. Sometimes all I have to do is tell her I love her and that she'll be okay, and she'll go back to sleep. But when it's a really bad nightmare? It doesn't work. She doesn't even call out for us; she just runs in and crawls into your arms. Never once mine. That's when I know it was a really bad one, because when she's terrified of life, it's you she comes running to. It's you who she wraps her little arms around so tightly I can barely see your head from my side of the bed. When she doesn't have anywhere else to turn, it's you she runs to. It's you that gives her the stability and the strength that she has. She's an amazing kid because i_you_/i are her mother."

Arizona still wasn't convinced; she felt like Callie was talking in circles, and the fact that she was, meant she wasn't really certain. And that...scared her. But looking into her eyes, the fire in front of them tinting them with an amber hue, the flames flickering against her skin, she knew that if it took all night to convince her, Callie would do just that.

Allowing her tears to fall freely, Arizona combed her fingers through her hair and rested her head against her palm, leaning against the back of the couch and lacing the fingers of her other hand through Callie's tightly. Sighing deeply, she offered Callie a weak smile and squeezed her hand gently, preparing herself to bare another little piece of her soul. She wasn't sure exactly i_how_/i Callie managed to open her up like this. Most of the time, while they may have been on the same page, it was in a completely different book. As long as they were being honest, she supposed it wouldn't be so difficult to let Callie in. Again.

"You know, I i_never_/i thought I would be a good mom. I told myself for years that it wasn't worth the pain, the insecurity, or the doubt. But then i_you_/i happened...and then i_she_/i happened. And...I never looked back. Except, sometimes, there's still that little terrified person inside of me screaming that I i_still_/i don't know how to do this. That I was right all along, that I couldn't possibly be a good mother to her."

She paused, breathing deeply and willing herself to keep looking at Callie, despite the tears building in her big, brown eyes. "Two kids died on my watch today, Calliope, and the only thing I could think was that if I couldn't save i_them_/i, how could I be there to save Juliet? I love my patients. I love some of them so much that losing them nearly tears me apart. I learned a long time ago to care, to care like crazy, but to know when to distance myself to cushion the blow. And move on to the next kid. But if something ever happened to her..." she trailed off, shaking her head and looking at a point over Callie's shoulder before returning her eyes to Callie's gaze. "I could never just move on to the next kid. There is i_always_/i a chance that she could end up in a hospital bed, or on a table in my O.R., and I am not going to be able to distance myself. So sometimes, I feel like I can't just let go and i_be her mother_/i because losing that tiny little version of me would be like losing myself completely."

Callie's heart ached. She knew it probably had something to do with her patients, but she never imagined this.

Arizona chuckled darkly, her eyes falling to her lap as she absentmindedly played with Callie's fingers. "I'm sorry...I don't mean to be so insecure, and I know this isn't what you had in mind for us tonight."

"This is always what I have in mind for us. Subject matter is irrelevant. If I'm with you...it's always what I have in mind. And you...i_we_/i need to talk about this, because I don't want you hurting anymore. So. We're gonna sit here and talk about it."

Nodding her head with determination that made Arizona crack a small smile, Callie looked over her beautiful features and thought about what she could say next, what she i_should_/i say next that wasn't redundant or talking herself into circles. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she immediately pictured their daughter, jumping up and down and clinging to her arm in anticipation of getting to the next house. Her smile, her bouncing curls, the excitement that just i_poured_/i out of her, and she knew exactly what she needed to say.

"When we were trick-or-treating, there was this little boy, he was maybe three or four, so adorable, dressed up as a bitty mouse. He had on the gray suit and the little ears, and whiskers. He hopped around with his hands pressed together like paws. I swear to God I wanted to bring him home he was i_that_/i cute. Anyway, he was standing with his dad and all of the sudden your daughter sees him and she takes off at full speed towards this kid before I can even grab her or react."

"Oh my god," Arizona laughed loudly, covering her eyes with her palm and shaking her head, before sliding her hand down to loosely cover her mouth. "What did she do to him?"

"Well, three feet in front of him, she drops to all fours and just starts chasing him! This poor little kid is all but in tears and has no idea what's going on and he's running around in circles. The dad is just standing there cracking up, and I was trying to chase after her, completely mortified. And she's yelling at this kid that he's 'supposed to be crying because she's a big scary alley cat and she's going to eat him', and just as she about got her hands on the kid I grabbed her by the tail and then got my hand into the elastic of her pants and scooped her up. I apologized and then took her far far away. When I asked her what the hell was going on and why she'd chase a terrified little kid who was younger than her, she looked at me like I'd grown a second head...which you do all the time by the way...and just as if she was telling me the time said 'Mom, it wasn't my fault he didn't stay in character!"

Arizona couldn't contain her laughter and the tears streaming down her face became tears of joy as she leaned into Callie, her whole body shaking with mirth. "I can't believe she did that! Well, I mean...of course, I i_believe_/i it, this is Juliet we're talking about. But even for her, that is just...i_funny_./i"

"Right? She's just so...i_focused_/i, all the time. Whenever she does anything she gives it two hundred percent and just...throws her whole heart into it. She's i_so_/i amazing, Arizona. And she is that way because that's how you are. How you are in the OR, how you are when you freaking do paperwork. You just, block the whole world out in a way that I never could. And you do it in order to get things done and to get them done right and perfect the first time. And then how you give so much of yourself to those little kids every day, too much sometimes, and then you come home and you give just as much to your own kid, even when you're exhausted or had a bad day, you still love that little girl two hundred percent, and whether you feel like it or not, that's exactly how you are. I could go on and on with stories about how she is the way she is because of you. Do you want me to?"

"You can..." Arizona said slowly, "If you want to." She said it as though it didn't really matter, but she knew that Callie would know she needed to hear more, even if she couldn't say it out loud.

"Well, I want. Okay, we were walking to one of the houses in the neighborhood over, the one with all the steps that lead up to the door? And there are a i_ton_/i of kids because it's all decked out and there are gravestones and cobwebs and monsters popping out of the ground, she was so freaking excited and she was tugging on my arm and jumping up and down. She was driving me up the wall so I sort of just…pushed her up onto the pathway so she could just get it over with already. And then this little girl, she was maybe two; really tiny, probably just learned to walk. Her mom is standing in the yard snapping pictures as she's walking up this walkway and she just...falls. Out of nowhere, just...right on her little butt and the mom's freaking out but there are already kids pushing in behind them so she can't get to her, and Jules sees her, stops, grabs her little hand and helps her up, looks at her mom and shoots her those dimples and holds that little girl's hand all the way up to the front door. And then she comes back, holding her hand, bends down, hugs her real tight, and then skips over to me without so much as a word about it."

"That's..." Arizona gaped open-mouthed in surprise, with a speechless smile on her face. "That's...amazing. She's amazing."

"You do things like that for people all the time, Arizona. And every time you do it she watches with wide eyes and so much pride written all over her face. How you help older people at the grocery put their bags in the car, how you hold doors open for people-no matter how many take advantage of it, how you smile and just...are a good person no matter who you come into contact with...no matter what kind of day you've had. You have a huge heart, and you do everything in your power to show it...and because of that...so does our daughter."

"Well," she blushes, looking down and then giving Callie a sheepish smile. "She i_is_/i very sweet. And polite."

"And why do you think that is?"

Arizona giggles quietly, placing her palm on Callie's chest and leaning in to capture her lips gently. "Because i_I'm_/i so sweet and polite."

"Mhm. Why do you think I'm so head over heels in love with you? Because you're amazing all the time, even when you don't have to be, or probably shouldn't be. Your heart is so big and the fact that I'm the one who gets it? Yeah. Still makes me my heart skip a beat or two every single day. Oh, and the fact that you're hot. That's a big reason. A big, big one too."

"Callie, you give me a billion new reasons to fall in love with you all over again every single day. And over half of them have to do with how hot you are."

"I'm glad you enjoy the goods, babe. i_Anyway_/i, I have another story. Do I get to tell? Or are you going to kiss my face off like you look like you're about to right now?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Talk fast."

Callie chuckled and leaned in for a quick kiss. "You're a goof."

Arizona smiled and stole another kiss. "You have a story."

"Well, without any help or reminders from me, every single time she went up to that door and they dropped that piece of candy in her bag she'd look up at them and grin and say, 'Thank you very much, have a nice night!' and nod her head and walk off waving. I fell in love with her all over again. Seriously. Every time. And I can tell you this, I maybe heard, twenty other kids out of about two hundred that we saw who said even a half-assed thank you. And she went all out...just like you taught her."

Arizona smiled sadly, moving to lay her head against Callie's chest. "I wish I could have seen that."

"Because you know how proud you would have been to see your daughter acting i_exactly_/i how you raised her to be?"

"Because it gives me butterflies when I watch you watch her."

"What do you mean?"

"It is impossible to watch you with our daughter and not fall for you a little bit more. You give her this look...like you could never look at anything else again in your entire life and be perfectly okay with that. It's...it's i_beautiful_/i. And then, you turn and you look at i_me_/i like that. And my heart jumps into my throat every time. I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

Callie closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath and smiled at Arizona, hoping to show her just how much she never wanted anything more than to be with her, having this conversation, every moment of every day, for the rest of their lives.

"Every time you both smile or laugh, my heart explodes and I just...want to pull both of you into me and never let go. And then I try to think of how my life would be without either of you and I just...can't. Because you two are my world. And every time I look at her I see everything good and amazing and beautiful in you, and I literally fall in love about seventy times a freaking day between the two of you. It's...exhausting!"

"Well," she sighed, brushing her nose softly against Callie's neck, "I am no stranger to exhausting you."

"And I'm no stranger to loving you. I will i_never_/i stop. I i_could_/i never stop. I've loved you since the day I first saw you. You are my forever. You both are."

"Callie," she murmured in the press of a kiss to the bare skin of her shoulder, and then placed her palm on Callie's neck, bringing them nose-to-nose, so close that each could breathe in the other's exhale. "I am okay with i_any_/i kind of forever as long as the two of you are there holding my hands. I will i_always_/i love you, I'll never stop needing you, and nothing could make me stop wanting you. And even if I don't always know how to express that like I am right now, I hope you'll never forget it."

Capturing Arizona's lips as her heart soared, and raced, and all around exploded out of her chest, Callie pushed into her. She i_needed_/i her. She needed Arizona to feel more than she needed her to hear.

Pulling back and forcing a sad, smile, Arizona continued. If she was going to do this, she had to do it right. She had to throw herself all in and hope to God that Callie was willing to catch her. As much as she wanted to lose herself in Callie, she knew that this was more important. For her, for Callie, for Juliet, for their family.

"I'm always scared. Whenever I leave for work, I'm scared to death to leave her and not have her with me where I can protect her. I was scared through my i_whole_/i pregnancy, but I always knew you wouldn't just let me stay scared. You pushed me through it and you guided me to the place where I i_knew_/i I could be a good mother because you were there to help me make that happen. You made me i_believe_/i that we could be two great people raising an amazing child together, no matter how many people seemed to think we shouldn't, and that made me feel safe, and protected. And loved. You still make me believe that, and watching you every day...watching you make i_her_/i believe the same thing proves to me that we made the i_best_/i decision of our lives when we made her.

Closing her eyes once more, she sighed, continuing. "And when I have to leave here, as much as it kills me to walk out that door and not get to have either of you in my arms, knowing that she's here with you, and that you two will be there for each other when I can't be, it lets me...it lets me do my job i_and_/i be her mother and not have to compromise loving my kids, i_or_/i loving my daughter."

"Arizona I'm...I love you so much. A-and every time you leave the only thing that helps me get through that is seeing so much of you, i_all_/i of you in that little girl and knowing that I have a part of you with me when you're gone and it...makes it all worth it. It makes i_this_/i worth it. It makes listening to her whine and getting water thrown in my face, it makes hearing you think you aren't a good mother and getting to spend an hour convincing you in every way possible, that you're an amazing mother because you're i_her_/i mother, worth every heartbeat. And I have missed you so much...I feel like I've been holding my breath and now I can just...breathe for the first time in more than a week."

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Callie smiled and looked at Arizona. "I just missed you, a lot."

Arizona grinned against Callie's kiss, running her tongue once across her bottom lip. "You want to know what I've missed about you?"

"I want to know what you've missed about me...I want to know everything that's going on in that amazing mind of yours."

"I've barely seen the outside of that hospital in days. I feel like you and I haven't even been able to even speak to each other much, and yet, you knew exactly everything I needed today to keep going, even though I didn't have a chance to tell you. You just...you knew. I missed being home to i_see_/i you do that. The way you dance around and hum to yourself while you cook for us, letting Juliet be your "Official Taste Tester," just so you know you got dinner right, and knowing that I need those extra few minutes when I get home to just soak up...home, and that her helping you will keep her calm and quiet while I...transition from Dr. Robbins to mom."

She took a deep, calming breath and smiled at Callie, who nodded at her to continue and squeezed her hands for a little encouragement. "I missed having a glass of wine with you in front of the fire and learning about what happened in your day. I missed the way your smile is so bright it could light every room in this house. I missed trying to save you from that face full of water at bath time. I missed listening to the two of you speaking Spanish to each other a mile a minute. I miss when I can come home and pick her up and wrap my arms around her, and you're right there looking at us with ithose/i eyes and smiling with i_that_/i smile. I miss the way you kiss me, even when she's around. That you still have as much passion and desire for me now as you did when we first met. I missed lying in our bed next to you with your hand on my back, scratching it until I fall asleep. But more than anything?" She whispered, trailing her lips across Callie's jaw slowly before biting just under her ear. "I missed i_loving_/i you...in i_every_/iway."

Callie's heart leapt into her throat and the only thing she could think to do was kiss her. And so she did, with all the love and desire she felt coursing through her veins. God, she had missed her, missed i_this_/i. They were so good together, so i_right_/i together, and when they were able to just sit back and feel that? That's when Callie knew she had made the best decision of her life by chasing after Arizona Robbins. When Arizona pulled away slightly to rest against Callie's forehead, she nuzzled their noses and waited for Callie to open her eyes. But when she didn't, she giggled softly and placed a gentle kiss to her lips and pulled away enough so she could look her in those beautiful brown eyes she was so in love with.

"Baby, open your eyes." Grinning at Callie as she slowly dragged them open, she instantly jumped back when the brunette poked her in the ribs for giggling at her love drunken stupor. "I think," Arizona began, looking fiercely into Callie's eyes and taking a deep, shuddering breath. "I think maybe, instead of doubting my relationship with our little girl and you trying to tell me how special it is, even though I know deep down, we should count ourselves i_unbelievably_/i lucky to be so wrapped up in each other. In the three of us, all the time."

"Yes. Yes, I agree." Shifting her glance and thinking hard in that adorable way she did, Callie slowly drew a smirk as her eyes reconnected with Arizona's. "Oh, and by the way, it's totally your own fault that you're the bad cop all the time."

"Oh-ho, it is? And how do you figure that one?"

"Because i_you_/i gave her those freaking dimples. And you i_know_/i I am incapable of saying no to them. On you or on her. Totally your fault."

"Ah," Arizona grinned, leaning forward and capturing Callie's lips between her own. "You win some, you lose some." She pressed her lips more firmly into the kiss, slowly sliding her body to straddle the brunette's hips.

"It's so hot when we're so in love with each other like this."

"I've been this in love with you from the first time we kissed. And I'm going to keep that tradition and never stop kissing you," she placed a kiss just under the apex of Arizona's jaw. "And I'm going to keep being madly in love with you," running her lips lazily along to just to the right of her chin. "And I'm going to fall faster and harder every second of every single day that I get to wake up with you next to me."

"Mmm, i_Calliope_/i," she groaned, titling her head to the side to provide more access to the skin tingling under Callie's lips. "Will you take me to bed now and prove it?"

Grinning against Arizona's soft skin, Callie dropped to tug at the neck of Arizona's shirt, pushing it down just slightly so she could nip just below her collarbone. Receiving a drawn out grown, she continued to nip here and there, working her way tortuously slow until she came right below her ear. Trailing her tongue down just underneath it, and blowing a rush of cool air against it, she leaned in just a little bit more, pushing up at the hem of Arizona's shirt and running her fingertips across the milky bare skin. Pushing her body a little deeper into Arizona's, Callie leaned right next to her ear and whispered, smirking at the shiver that it sent through her body. "I'll prove it right here, right this second, just say the word, baby."

"Mm, not here," she panted, throwing her head back and sliding her arms around Callie's neck and through her hair. "Take me to bed. Now. Please."

Arizona Robbins was begging. The single i_sexiest_/i thing Callie had ever, and would ever hear from a woman's lips.

"Arizona...I plan on proving it to you every second of every day for as long as our i_daughter_/i stays in her own bed for the rest of forever."

"Hah," she scoffed, but dragged her lips up and down Callie's jaw line, placing the occasional soft bite, and pressed her fingers lightly into the skin of Callie's neck.

"You have about three good hours before she even moves. Use them wisely."

Groaning, Callie grabbed Arizona by the neckline of her shirt and tugged her into her arms, wrapping them tightly around her waist and running her fingertips over the soft exposed skin at the base of her shirt. And she grinned stupidly as Arizona smirked and pushed her over, attaching her lips to below Callie's jaw.

"I-I thought you said...you wanted me to...oh God...to take you to bed?"

"Mm, I do," she mumbled between kisses up and down Callie's neck, "but you're taking too long."

"You're...kissing that spot, how am I supposed to...i_breathe_/i let alone get you upstairs?"

Arizona sighed and pulled away slowly, still straddling Callie's hips and allowing her hands to roam over her body. "Well then, let's go." Punctuating her words with a bite to Callie's jaw.

"W-we can stay right here. This is our couch. We're allowed...no Cristina to bust in on us. Let's stay and you...keep doing...that."

"But..." She whispered, leaning down and pressing her body into Callie's once more as she dragged her lips across her collarbone. "i_This_/i room doesn't have a lock. You know...just in case."

Sitting up straight with huge eyes, Callie gasped a little and pushed Arizona off of her. "Good point...locks are good. Let's go."

Arizona's shoulders hunched slightly, a firm pout settling on her lips. "I was, sort of...hoping you might need a little more... coaxing."

"Honey, how long have we been together now? I can read you like a book. Now. The faster we get upstairs, the faster you can get naked. And I like you naked. And writhing beneath me. A lot. Shall we?" Reaching out for Arizona's hand, Callie smirked at the confused, but quite turned on expression she was currently being given.

Pulling her up and lacing their fingers, Callie smiled and walked hand in hand with Arizona through the family room. Granted, she loved how confused this all made Arizona, and the look on her face was priceless. If Arizona wanted to tease her by coaxing, Callie was going to tease Arizona by making her wait.

Arizona allowed herself to be pulled along by their intertwined fingers, but as soon as they came to the bottom of the staircase, an unexpected growl bubbled up in her chest.

"Fuck this." She groaned, gripping Callie firmly by the elbow and pushing her into the closest wall, pinning her there by her hips.

"The...the baby - she'll hear us, Arizona."

Without warning, Arizona slid her hand smoothly between the fabric of Callie's pants and heated skin. "I don't think I care."

"Up...upstairs. Now. We...not on the steps. Take me in the bed. Right now. Just...on the bed."

Arizona curled her hand around Callie's neck and nodded frantically while pressing their lips together, fast and urgent, her right hand dragging up the length of Callie's soaking center. Receiving a long moan, Arizona's skin tingled and she withdrew her hand. Probably the single hardest thing she'd ever done in her life. Closing her eyes, she took a deep, quick breath and dragged Callie up the stairs, stumbling as she moved backwards but never breaking the contact.

Callie groaned as her shoulder was slammed into the railing as Arizona attempted to pull them both up the stairs. And gasped as Arizona placed her hand on her chest with the biggest smirk she'd ever witnessed from her, and shoved her right back onto the step, straddling her and grinding down with such force it caused Callie's tailbone to dig into the edge of the stair. When Callie let out a wince and a yelp in pain, Arizona pushed into her harder, attaching her lips to Callie's neck, and biting so hard it made Callie's eyes water.

This was...new.

"For the love of God, Arizona...the bed. Just...take me on the fucking bed. Not here. This i_hurts_/i."

Because, seriously?

"Kinda the whole point, don't ya think?

She grinned against Callie's neck and circled her fingers around her girlfriend's wrists, prying them from their death grip on the stair and placing them gently on her own hips as she rolled them slowly into the ones pinned beneath her own.

Callie's pleasure right that moment was certainly outweighing her pain, and she was so turned on at Arizona's new-found...aggression, that she didn't even care they were about to fuck each other on the stairs. Tightening her grip on the blonde's hips, the resolve she was i_barely_/i holding on to, crumbled and she groaned into Arizona's ear.

Callie was going to fuck Arizona. On the stairs. Whether she liked it or not. And judging by the way Arizona was pushing into her, neither of them really minded. Having sex on the stairs? Totally new. And totally hot.

Arizona slid her hands slowly up Callie's arms, over her shoulders, and raked them down her torso before gripping her hips roughly and pulling them up to meet hers. She needed more of Callie with each passing second, and nothing was happening quickly enough for her.

She wanted to ravage this woman. She needed to i_devour_/i her.

Tightening her grip on Arizona's hips and pressing up into them, Callie knew she needed more. And smirking when Arizona slipped her eyes closed, she reached between them and popped open the button on her jeans, and slid her hand right into her pants, cupping her, then pressing her middle finger into her, just enough to tease her and feel how wet she was, before Arizona could even discern what was happening.

"i_Oh_/i my god, Callie," she gasped, threading her fingers through Callie's hair and pulling at the back of her scalp. Hard. "Are we really doing this?"

Taking in ragged breaths, Callie looked into Arizona's eyes. "That depends on whether you move. Because if you do, I'm going to slip this finger and push it right into you. And then, I'm going to take you, right on these stairs. Once I start, I won't stop, not until you can't move, however long that takes. So, it's up to you, Arizona. What do you want me to do?"

Groaning, Arizona sucked Callie's bottom lip between her teeth, pulling it through and biting roughly. She dragged her tongue across to soothe it and then licked her own lips, breathing into Callie's mouth.

"I want you to take me on the stairs. Now."

"Good. I was going to whether you wanted me to or not."

Punctuating her words by sliding two fingers easily into Arizona, she watched her girlfriend as she threw her head back and her mouth dropped open as she bore down on Callie's fingers. Watching Arizona, Callie's eyes widened at their current location and reached up to slam her hand over Arizona's mouth. And when she looked at her, completely pissed off, all Callie could do was smirk. "We're on...the stairs. You're...loud. Even when no sound comes out. Keep your mouth closed and just…let me fuck you."

Arizona nodded and closed her eyes; biting her lip so hard it drew blood as she pushed her hips down over the fingers inside her over and over again. She leaned forward and buried her face into Callie's neck, allowing a soft whine to escape her lips as she spread her legs and forced Callie deeper inside of her. She could do her best not to make a sound, but...she was still human, and this was iCallie _Torres_/i fucking her. She made no guarantees.

Arizona was biting her. And she was biting her hard. Wherever she could reach with that amazing mouth of hers. She was i_trying_/i to be quiet and in the most sexy of ways, but she wasn't i_being_/i quiet. The soft moans and hisses and the grunts she would make as Callie pushed into her, didn't anywhere near resemble anything close to quiet. And as hot as it was to see Arizona fighting her natural needs and to i_hear_/i those needs, she needed to shut the fuck up. Seriously.

Grabbing her by the back of the neck, Callie brought her to right up to her face and kissed her as hard as she possibly could, but the tint of copper flooded her senses and she pulled back to look the blonde in the eyes, stilling her fingers, and causing Arizona to instantly snap back into reality. "I said...shut your mouth, Arizona. That means no sounds. And if you can't handle that, then I'll just have to make you."

Arizona narrowed her eyes, placing her palms on the wooden step on either side of Callie's hips, and lifted herself off of her fingers, before slowly grinding down on them again. "I i_dare_/i you."

Locking Arizona's intense stare with her own, Callie grinned mischievously. If that was how she wanted to play it? Oh, Callie was good at games. And she i_always_/i won. Refusing to even move an inch, Callie saw Arizona's resolve crumbling, her fingers still buried deep inside of her, her warm, tight heat wrapped around her digits, but Callie had the upper hand, literally more so than figuratively. And when Arizona looked at her and i_glared_/i at her as she lifted her hips once again, ready to feel the sensation of Callie thrusting into her, Callie moved her hand.

She took her hand right out of Arizona's pants and cocked her head to the side and was ready to catch Arizona as she all but collapsed into her arms with an exhale of frustration. "Dare accepted."

"Calliope Torres," she whispered furiously against her chest, taking in deep, staggered breaths, "I swear if your fingers aren't inside me in the next ten seconds, I'm going to finish the job myself."

"Oh, is that so? Well. By all means. Go right ahead. Maybe you can show me a thing or two and then I can demonstrate what I've learned when we get to our room."

"Are you sure about that?" She smirked, dragging the fingers of her right hand over her own stomach, playing around the waistband of her pants. "Because once i_I_/i start...i_I'm_/i not going to stop."

"Well, you i_dared_/i me. So. I accepted your dare. I guess you're just going to have to deal with the fallout of losing."

Arizona Robbins was pissed. Beyond pissed. She i_hated_/i to lose. She really hadn't thought Callie could say no, that she could withhold fucking her, especially when she teased that she'd just do it herself. Because, let's face it, Arizona getting herself off had to be the hottest thing Callie had ever witnessed. That i_one_/i time, the i_last_/i time she threatened her like that? Arizona didn't recover for almost a full week. This time she wasn't as lucky. But she just i_had_/i to fall in love with the most stubborn, i_driven_/i woman in all of Washington. Fuck.

"Okay," she nodded her head in determination. She grinned, taking Callie's hands in her own and kissing each of her palms lovingly before wrapping them around her own waist. Arizona hooked her thumbs into the sides of her pants and pushed them down slowly, watching Callie's eyes follow the clothing, and her chest begin to pick up speed as her heart rate skyrocketed. Much better.

Pulling away from Callie and kneeing around her, she tugged her pants the rest of the way down, kicking them off one leg at a time and watching them fall into a heap on the bottom step. Bringing her knees up one step higher, which gave her more leverage, she leaned into Callie's midsection, placing her hands firmly on the step above Callie's head, and lowered herself to whisper in her ear. "If you aren't going to fuck me, then I'll just use your body to fuck myself." Showing Callie just how serious she was, she pressed herself firmly into her skin, sliding down and riding Callie's stomach, only enough to gauge her reaction. Pressing her face into the side of Callie's neck, she let out a quiet groan into her ear as she felt Callie's grip on her hips tighten and press Arizona more firmly against her.

Callie watched the events that were transpiring. For the love of God. Arizona was just going to i_make_/i herself come whether Callie had any say in it or not. And she wasn't even going about it the normal way. No, she just i_had_/i to play dirty and fuck herself against Callie. But, seriously. i_Seriously_/i. Callie just...couldn't. Her hands jerked as soon as Arizona's slick wet heat rubbed against her stomach and all her brain would let her do was push her down harder, more contact, more...fucking.

Arizona gasped in pleasure and threw her head back, letting it roll to the side, and she looked down at Callie through smoldering eyes as she rolled her hips continuously against her body. She i_knew_/i Callie hadn't been expecting this, and that was what made it even hotter. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the stair next to Callie's head and tangled her fingers in the messy black hair. "Is this what you had in mind?"

Callie didn't need words. Words were stupid. They were pointless, and all they did was delay the inevitable, so instead of giving Arizona the satisfaction of saying she'd blown her mind right then, Callie pushed down on her hips roughly, bringing her back crashing down onto her hips as her knees slid off the step they were kneeling on. Callie took a moment to look Arizona in the eyes before leaning in and tugging her bottom lip between her teeth and licking her way down her chin to promptly place an open-mouthed kiss just above her collarbone. Holding her lips there as she dropped her right hand from its resting place on Arizona's hip, she thrust two fingers so deep into Arizona it made Callie gasp herself at finally being surrounded by that heat once again. i_God_/i she was wet. Mumbling as best she could against Arizona's "I'll fuck you. Right here. Right now. But we...have to be quiet. Just...shhh."

Waiting for Arizona to acknowledge with a nod, Callie attached her lips to the side of her neck and bit down as hard as she could, she wanted to leave a mark. She wanted Arizona to remember how fucking hot this whole encounter was, for a least a week, if not more. Something about that...seeing the aftermath was just so...yeah. Quickening her pace and adding pressure from her own hips, i_needing_/i some kind of friction herself, Callie grazed Arizona's clit with her thumbnail and tightened her hold on the blonde's side to remind her not to make a fucking sound.

Arizona couldn't breathe. There was no breath left in her lungs, because if she wasn't breathing, she wasn't making noise. She buried her face beneath Callie's hair and inhaled deeply, pressing her mouth to Callie's neck and wrapping her arms around her as much as possible, digging her nails into the bare skin of Callie's shoulders. She kissed her way up Callie's neck until she reached i_that_/i spot just behind her ear, allowing her tongue to swirl over it twice before moving to suck her earlobe in between her lips. She placed her hands on the sides of Callie's neck, tracing the shell of her ear with her lips and pleading in a whisper, "i_Harder_/i."

Fuck. Callie shifted trying to give her more friction, more power, more...fucking, but she couldn't. Getting frustrated with herself for deciding to fuck her on a staircase instead of a nice big bed, Callie pushed up from the step and into Arizona's body, picking her up with her, fingers still buried deep inside. Turning her and flipping positions, Callie laid her down on the steps and used the newly gained leverage to drop her shoulder and push up so hard into her, Arizona's whole body moved with the thrust. She wanted harder? Callie was sure as hell going to give it to her.

Arizona's legs instantly came up to wrap around Callie's back; they looked into each other's eyes and even through the raw lust and need to just...i_consume_/i each other, they had a profound connection, even when it was just about...fucking each other senseless. And as soon as Callie saw it, her heart twinged and she leaned right up into Arizona's face and kissed her, pulling back only to whisper 'I love you' as she thrust back deeper into her, hardest, faster, rougher than she had ever remembered being. And from the sounds that i_weren't_/i coming out of Arizona's mouth, Callie knew she was coming undone, in every sense of the phrase.

Arizona placed her hands above her head and gripped the edge of the first stair she could reach, lifting her lower body and meeting each of Callie's thrusts with equal enthusiasm. Everything about this was new, and hot, and felt so i_right_/i that the familiar build-up of pressure curled somewhere deep inside of her and rushed through every one of her limbs without her control or consent.

She had wanted this to last. Forever. This was...God there weren't even words. As soon as Callie could feel Arizona's walls tighten and start to tremor around her fingers, and hear the sharp gasps and pants coming from her mouth, she knew it was coming. She knew i_she_/i was coming, and in that moment, right before her last thrust, Callie leaned in and bit down so hard on her shoulder Arizona cried out as softly as she could, and as she did, Callie felt the explosion of heat from inside of her. This was...fucking amazing. That was the only word to describe it. i_Amazing./_i And all Callie could do was keep pushing into her, hoping to draw it out as long as she possibly could, making this moment for them last, because she had never felt so...whole.

They'd shared things with one another...confessed things. Powerful, terrifying, soul searching kinds of things, and even though it wasn't romantic or sensual, it was hot and sexy and dirty and Callie felt as though they were reconnecting as a i_couple_/i rather than keeping consciously aware of their i_family_/i. This moment was theirs, about their need to just i_love_/i each other in every way possible...and in whatever position possible, apparently.

Arizona held Callie's gaze, her chest heaving with labored breaths. She gently pulled her fingers through Callie's hair, giving her a weak smile, pulling her into another kiss. She had needed this tonight, she needed for Callie to make her feel i_alive_/i. And nothing had ever made her feel quite as alive as i_this_/i moment, lying trapped beneath her lover in the most delicious of ways.

For once it wasn't about Juliet, it wasn't about work, it wasn't about i_forcing_/i any type of intimacy just because they didn't know the next time they'd be able to share a bed. It was about love. And it was about passion. It was about the dire need to be close to one another, to be i_inside_/i of one another in every possible way. And it was about everything that they were as a couple. And rediscovering that, i_every_/i time they rediscovered that, it was as if they'd fallen in love all over again. That they were shiny and brand new and were learning to show each other how they felt all over again.

It was...amazing.

"Calliope," Arizona began softly, dragging her index finger from her forehead, down the side of her face, and to trace the outline of her lips. "As i_amazing_/i as that was...my, um...my back kinda hurts."

"Oh God, I know. Are we really getting too old for this kind of stuff? I don't want to get too old for this kind of stuff. Because...wow."

"Well, I hope not," she grinned, "but if so, we still have bed sex. And my bed sex is i_awesome_/i."

"Eh. It's all right. I've had better. But, you're naked, and I'm not. And we're on the stairs. And our daughter's room is at the other end of the hall. So. We should probably take this somewhere more...lock friendly."

"Absolutely," she breathed, grinning as Callie grabbed her by her wrists and pulled her up to a standing position, quickly dragging her up the stairs as fast as Arizona's feet could follow. She wrapped her arms around Callie's waist from behind, placing sweet kisses up and down the back of her neck as they slid and stumbled, giggling, over the hardwood floor and through the door to their bedroom.


	4. Of Elegance & Beignets

**CHAPTER TWO**

**PART FOUR**

* * *

**A/N**: So, I must apologize to everyone for screwing up, but I forgot to add this last installment of chapter two before posting chapter three. It'll explain a lot of loose ends and confusions because we did reference things and have reoccurring themes. I'm sorry for being dumb. But, at least you get a double dose of little Juliet!

* * *

Finally back in the comfort of their own bed, door slightly ajar _just in case_, Callie held Arizona firmly against her, their tangled limbs wound tightly in the middle of the bed, comfortably unsure where one began and the other ended.

Perfection.

Running her fingers through Arizona's blonde curls, Callie had to smile when she heard a soft, complacent sigh escape somewhere around her stomach. "Is it terrible that I'm looking forward to when Jules starts going to school full time so we can both work the same schedules and get lots more of this? I miss this."

"Of course not," Arizona sighed once more, closing her eyes and letting herself melt further into Callie's embrace. "I am _definitely_looking forward to more of this. And, let's be honest here, she's probably looking forward to it too. She spends at least an hour every Saturday morning moping around because there's no school."

"Mmm no more week long night shifts for either of us. So nice." Callie paused when Arizona tensed up just slightly under her touch. "What was that for?"

"Can we just..." she trailed off, shaking her head and burrowing her nose into the soft skin of Callie's stomach, allowing her mind to be cleared by the intoxicating scent. "Not talk about the night shifts?"

Furrowing her brow, Callie shifted a little to put even an inch of distance between them so Arizona would know she was a little less than thrilled at the avoidance tactic. "I suppose. Even though I didn't exactly say anything about them."

"No, you didn't," Arizona agreed carefully, lifting herself up and leaning on her elbow to give Callie a pointed stare. "But you would be going there if I hadn't stopped you. And I can't talk about that right now."

Shaking her head slightly with a frown, Callie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Alright then, but if you think I can't tell something is bothering you, you'd be wrong."

Arizona sighed, settling her head against Callie's stomach once more, and traced light, indistinguishable patterns over the skin at her hip. "Nothing is bothering me right now. I'm perfectly comfortable being so wrapped up in you like this. Figuratively and...otherwise. So, let's just...enjoy that."

Callie knew Arizona better than she probably knew herself, cliche or not, and she knew that not talking about what was on her mind would eventually drain her and eat her alive. She also knew, if she pushed her, it'd result in an argument and probably one of them waking up alone. Which wasn't an option. So, Callie merely sighed and resumed the downward trickling of her fingers through the blonde's curls, not speaking a word, knowing full well that the silence would kill her eventually.

Arizona was conflicted, and she _strongly_ disliked that feeling. She liked to know things, certainly and without question, and so it frustrated her to feel torn. But being in a relationship with Calliope Torres usually meant at least _some_ emotional guesswork, and this was no exception. Her girlfriend was not one to simply back down from a discussion, and the fact that she had, meant she was trying to manipulate it to her advantage. She knew that Arizona couldn't handle her silence, which made Arizona _that_much more inclined to suffer through it.

Unfortunately, she realized as she exhaled in an annoyed huff against her lover's skin, Callie had been right. "I _hate_ working the night shift, and then I _hate_thinking about it enough to talk about it. Okay?"

"I didn't say anything, Arizona. I'm lying here, running my fingers through your hair, trying to comfort you since you obviously had a bad right, evident from earlier, and evident now."

"I know, I know it's not your fault," she whispered, wrapping her arm around Callie's waist and squeezing her closer. "But I don't think I'm going to stop whining about it until I've gone to sleep and this day is officially over."

"So, whine away. Or go to sleep. I'm here for either. But, you can't expect me to not care or not ask. Because that's what you do when someone you love has a bad day. You show up and have a conversation. I showed up. That's the best I can do."

Arizona simply smiled in response as she pressed a soft kiss just below Callie's belly button, murmuring into her skin. She didn't need to say anything else. "Mm. Thank you."

"Of course, sweetie. So, are we sleeping then? Because your daughter is a ridiculous ball of energy and has more of your perky disposition than I thought was ever imaginable. You two are exhausting." She smirked slightly and poked Arizona in the shoulder.

"Well, you'd think that after five years, you would have built up a tolerance by now."

"Yeah, you'd think. I'll never get sick of it though. I love hers as much as I loved yours when we first started dating."

"Mhm," she smiled, repositioning her body closer to the top of the bed with her back pressed tightly against Callie's front. "I love you. Now...shhh."

"Mmm warm. Warm is nice. Sweet dreams, beautiful."

Arizona nodded, reaching back and grabbing Callie's wrist to wrap her arm around her body, lacing their fingers together and placing a kiss on the back of her hand. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes, however, before she heard frantic little feet shuffling down the hall in the direction of their bedroom.

Without a peep, Juliet ran at full speed into the room, pushing the door roughly at her entrance, and forgetting completely to never let doors hit the wall when they're opened. Both lifting their heads in shock and slight worry, they watched as their daughter sprinted to Arizona's side of the bed and stopped dead in her tracks, breathing heavily, hands frantically searching the comforter for an opening she could crawl under.

"Juliet? What's wrong?"

"I had the bad dream again."

"Aww sweetie, c'mere. The bad one? Or the really bad one?"

"The really bad one. The end of the world one." She buried her face into Arizona's chest, relaxing slightly at the feeling of her mother's hand rubbing soothing circles against her back. "I woke up too early...I wanted to finish it this time."

"Do you think that if you finish it, it'll stop coming back?"

"Not really," she shrugged, pulling away from the hug and looking earnestly into Arizona's eyes. "It was just...interesting."

"Wanna tell me about it, baby? Or do you just wanna try and go back to sleep in here with us?"

"I'll stay here," she murmured sleepily, peeking over Arizona's shoulder to look for Callie, just to make sure she was in the bed with them too. "If the world's gonna end again, I want to be next to you."

Arizona almost cried as the little body snuggled in closer, reaching up and tightly tugging on her mother's soft cotton tank top. She kissed the top of Juliet's head, closing her eyes with a smile at the feeling of Callie's lips pressed against the back of her neck, and fleetingly thought that there was no way she could possibly feel more complete than in that exact moment.

Callie smiled and shuffled in a little closer to the two most important people in her life, placing a gentle kiss on Arizona's neck, and softly whispered against her ear.

"When her world is gonna end, she wants your arms around her." And if hers were to end, she could think of nowhere as perfect as well.

"Okay, kiddo." Callie said as she walked hand in a hand outside the bakery with Jules the next morning. "Do you think Mama will be awake? Or are we gonna have to jump on her to wake her up?"

Grasping the smaller of the two boxes, which housed six glazed doughnut holes, Jules looked up with wide eyes and a smile. "Mom, it's not nice to wake people up by jumping on them. You know how much Mama hates that. We'll get in trouble if we do it that way!"

"Yeah, you're right. She does hate that. Hmm. How do you think we should wake her up if she's still sleeping? It's already close to ten-thirty and we have a fun day at the park all planned out. She needs to get her butt outta bed."

Jules crunched her features, deep in an over-exaggerated thought. "Well. She likes doughnut. Maybe if we sit them on your side of the bed she'll smell them and wake up happy! Then we'll get kisses and snuggles instead of yelling. I like those better."

"You and me both, kiddo. And maybe, if you're extra special good, I'll let you have a few bites out of a sprinkled one in the car, even though that's your mom secret favorite. Deal?"

"Do I still get my holes when we're at home? 'Cause they're my favorite."

"Sure, you can have your holes, and you and I will split a sprinkled one on the way there. Now, hop up in your seat and buckle yourself in so we can get this show on the road."

Callie smiled as she watched Jules climb up into the booster chair and work the buckle. They'd discovered a long time ago that if they let her work the contraption on her own, she wouldn't fuss about being in one, nor would she try to get out. She was tiny for her age; you'd think she'd have the body of a three-or-four-year-old, but the brain of a thirty-year-old. Which was oddly perfect, because they could still cuddle her with ease _and_have a normal full length conversation with her. She was too perfect for her own good

Opening the passenger side door, Callie placed the boxes on the seat, opening the largest and breaking a rainbow-sprinkled one into thirds. Wrapping one of them in a napkin, she handed it to her daughter and couldn't help the huge grin that appeared seeing how big her eyes got with excitement. You'd think she was just handed a diamond ring. "Don't make a mess, remember you gotta keep the napkin under it so the sprinkles don't go all over the car."

Jules nodded with excitement as Callie closed the door, hopped in, and pulled out of the parking lot. "I remember Mom. But all the bounces are making it really hard to keep the sprinkles trapped in."

Truthfully, Callie didn't care, it was more fun to watch Jules alternate between trying to corral them with her tongue in the napkin, and picking tiny bites off the doughnut itself. Mess or not, that kid was adorable.

Walking into the house twenty minutes later, breakfast boxes in hand, Callie threw the keys in the designated bowl with a long drawn out sigh. Jules had a sudden burst of energy from the sprinkles, apparently, as she sprinted around the living room with her hands over her mouth, a muffled humming of a song they'd heard on the radio echoing in her wake as she did so loudly into her palm. At least she was being courteous of Arizona, who was likely still asleep in the bedroom.

After the night before, their emotional revelations...and their 'fun' on the stairs, Callie had woken up with Jules around seven thirty, fully intent on letting the blonde sleep the rest of the day if need be. They'd had plans to spend the afternoon in the park, have a picnic, watch Jules play and catch up on some light reading, but from what Callie could gather about her night at work, Arizona needed the break. It was actually Jules who questioned if Arizona had been still been sad after trick-or-treating, and when Callie tried to explain once again, she was already formulating a plan and didn't hear a word of it.

_"Mom! I have an idea! You know how when Mama's sad she likes to eat a bunch of doughnut and pretend they're not bad for you? How 'bout we go and get her some so she won't be sad anymore when she wakes up?"_

"Hm that's a good idea sweetie. You tiptoe upstairs and get some clothes on, don't bother your mother, and creep down here as quietly as you can. Then we'll go and get some breakfast for all three of us and we'll start a fire and watch cartoons while we wait for your mama to wake up. But you've gotta be extra super quiet when you're up there. Like a stealthy alley cat, remember?"

Jules leaned into Callie and pressed her whole body flush against her arm and put her face right up next to the side of her mom's in a too loud for so close 'whisper'. "I can bereally quiet, Mom. So quiet not even you'll be able to hear me. And then we'll get doughnut and listen to the radio with the sax-e-phonies and the big body guitars and then we'll come home and watch," she scrunched her face. "Oh! Can we watch my Jetsons and Casperand Flinstones DVDs that Mama bought for me from a long time ago when you were little? And can we start the fire now? Please Mom?"

Callie laughed. "Sweetie, we've gotta get the doughnut before we make the fire, and of course, you can watch whatever cartoons you want for as long as you want, until your Mama wakes up. But. On two conditions. You gotta be extra super secretive upstairs, and you've gotta snuggle with me under the big red blanket while we watch. Do those sound like acceptable terms?"

"Oh yes, I like the sounds of your terms Mom. I'm gonna go now and be super quiet and get my clothes on. You should go and see if Mama is still asleeping so we'll know if she can come and snuggle with us too."

"Ready? On your mark..." Callie whispered close to her ear, turning the little blonde in the opposite direction. "Get set..."

"Go!" Jules projected in a loud whisper, taking off down the hall. Stopping at the base of the stairs, she turned and brought her finger to her mouth and shushed in Callie's direction with a soft giggle as she crawled silently up the steps to her bedroom.

"Mom! Is Mama asleep still? I wanna snuggle and watch cartoooooons now and eat my doughnut holes!"

"Jules. She's still asleep. You need to use your quiet voice. Here's a doughnut. Half for each hand, go sit on the couch and wait for me to come downstairs. If you want her to be in a good mood, you need to keep quiet for just a little longer so I can go wake her up, okay?"

"Buuut Mom, I wanna come with you. So I can show her her what we brought her and tell her it was my idea because it was! Let me go with you, please?" She whined.

"Well, you go sit on the couch, eat your food, watch _one_cartoon, and then you can come up with a sprinkled one to surprise her. But you have to be a little patient. We want her to be happy for the park and for snuggling, right?"

"But, Mom!"

"No buts, kiddo. Now, you should think about which hand is better to start with. I bet you can't guess which one is my favorite half. Think about that for a while. Which one would I choose, and which one your mama would choose. But remember, you only get half for each hand at a time, so, make each half count, okay?"

Hopping up onto the couch, two halves clutched tightly in both hands, Jules looked back and forth from each piece, quietly contemplating which half either of her mothers would choose. It was certainly a complex decision, and she wanted to make it the right one. "You'd pick the left, Mom. I know it."

"Well, you may be right, or you may be wrong, but what happens if your Mama wants the left too? You can't have two lefts. You sit there and try and figure it out, and once you do, you come up to my bedroom with Mama's sprinkled one that's on the table there wrapped in a paper towel and join us. Think hard Jules!"

Making her way up the stairs to their master bedroom, Callie pressed the door open, walked in, and closed the door behind her, hoping that if Jules got bored with herself or the cartoons, the barrier would deter her long enough for a few minutes of quiet snuggling before the chaos of the day began. Tiptoeing across the hardwood floor, Callie pulled the blankets down and snuck in quickly, cautious neither to disrupt Arizona, nor let all the warmth escape from under the covers. Scooting closer and reaching her left arm around the blonde's waist, she settled in behind her and allowed her body to melt into the peace of the moment.

Lingering somewhere in that surreal place between dreaming and awake, Arizona vaguely registered the feeling of Callie sliding into bed behind her and wrapping her in an embrace. She hesitantly allowed her body to creep closer to consciousness, knowing that she _never_had a chance to sleep late, but also knowing that it was the best way to simply enjoy being with her girlfriend. She slowly shifted to her other side facing into Callie's body, her eyes remaining closed, throwing her arm over Callie's hip and pressing a kiss to her shoulder. "Mm. Good morning."

"Very good. Did you have sweet dreams?" Callie closed her eyes and relished in the warmth of the cocoon Arizona had created, as well as the warmth of having her so _damn_close again. God, she missed this.

"If I did, I don't remember them," she murmured quietly, burying her nose in Callie's neck and inhaling deeply. "Did you?"

"I don't remember what time Jules came running in here, but she was certainly up not long after. Well before the sun, which...she needs to _not_be a morning person like you, it'd make things much more awesome for me in terms of letting you sleep if she wasn't a raging ball of energy at seven in the morning."

"No one said parenting would be easy, Calliope," she grinned, giving her a short, soft kiss on the lips. "_Especially_at seven in the morning."

"Says the girl who got to sleep in until eleven thirty, which, I have never seen you do."

"Thirty-seven hours of labor," she argued, narrowing her eyes. "You owe me as many seven-in-the-mornings as I want."

"Hey, I offered. You're the one who wanted to do it. Because of your 'control issues'. So. No complaining. I always get up with her. Just shut up and c'mere."

"Fair enough," she smiled, resting her head in the crook of Callie's neck and moving her body in as close as she possibly could. It was highly likely that Juliet would find some way to demand their attention very soon, so she wanted to make the most of the remaining time before that impending interruption.

"She's downstairs watching the _Jetsons_and trying to decide which half of her breakfast I would choose and which you would choose. I figured it'd give us about ten minutes or so before she gave up and just stuffed them both in her mouth and came sprinting up the stairs...y'know, in case you were wondering."

"I _was_wondering," she smiled, drawing lazy circles on the skin of Callie's hip just barely exposed below her shirt. "And I think your time estimate is a little off. She's not patient enough to wait ten minutes before eating a doughnut."

"Well, she already had one in the car, so, I had _hoped_she'd take her time. How'd you know we went to the bakery this morning?"

"Because you said you asked her to choose half of her breakfast for you, and half for me. And the only breakfast we really disagree on is doughnut. So. You went to the bakery."

"Yeah, we did. It was her idea actually. She wanted you to be happy when you woke up. And she was getting antsy and was most certainly going to come up and jump on the bed. You looked like you could use the sleep. So. We went out. It was fun. She even insisted on carrying her own box."

"Of course she did," Arizona laughed, tucking a few loose strands of hair behind Callie's ear and then running her fingers through it to the ends. "The holes, right?"

"Indeed. She insisted that the bites better fit her mouth and that it allowed her to get more. However, I don't think she realized they're about the equivalent of a big one and a half. We'll keep her in the dark on that one for a while."

"Yes. What she doesn't know won't hurt her." Arizona threaded her fingers through the hair at the base of Callie's neck and pulled her into a kiss, her smile never fading. She was assuming that they only had about two minutes or less before Juliet couldn't stand to be without them any longer, and she was going to make the most of them.

Right on cue, the door creaked open and Jules peeked her little blonde head around the door frame, sprinkled doughnut in hand, and grinned like she'd just been given a puppy on Christmas morning at the sight of Arizona finally awake.

Knowing that she would pout if the silence in the room continued, Arizona gave Callie a knowing smirk and burrowed under the blankets a bit more, as Callie closed her eyes and pretended to be fast asleep.

Jules narrowed her eyes and glared at her parents; she was well aware of the game they were playing. She huffed and marched over to the bed, climbing up on Callie's side and stopping just as her little feet met Callie's back. Crouching a little and placing the doughnut next to Callie's head, Jules took one giant step, digging her tiny toes into the dip of her mom's hip and stepping firmly into it with a little giggle. Plopping a hand down on Callie's shoulder to steady herself, as if her proximity wasn't an imposition in the least, she stepped over her mother and promptly sat right on Arizona's head under the blanket.

"Mama, are you up yet?"

Arizona groaned at the pressure of the extra thirty-two pounds resting on her head, remaining very still and quiet instead of responding to her daughter's question. Instead, she shoved her arms over the top of the blanket and hooked her hands around Juliet's middle, tickling her incessantly and gently pushing her into the space between Callie's body and her own.

"Mom! Help me! She's tickling me, make her stop!" Jules said between fits of giggles and tiny groans of pain as her mother's dexterous fingers worked at all the spots that made her daughter jump and squirm.

Arizona laughed along with her, looking up and winking at Callie. "Your Mom isn't going to help you here, kiddo."

"But Mama! I brought you breakfast! Trêve! Trêve!"

Callie couldn't help but laugh as Arizona tickled Jules between them. She didn't need to help or give any input, the show was quite hilarious enough. The way her legs flopped around and her arms flailed at her sides, digging her fingers into the sheets to try to lift herself up. Even the way she spouted off the small amount of French she knew, knowing it'd melt her mother's heart in a ploy to end the relentless torment of the fingers digging into her side. It was all too adorable.

"Mom! Please! Tell her!"

"You're on your own, kid. You stepped on me! And I took you for breakfast and everything. Tickling is good payment."

As tears began to form in the corners of Juliet's eyes, Arizona ceased her attack and scooped her into a tight hug instead. She kissed the top of her little head repeatedly as she calmed down, hiccuping occasionally in the absence of the hysterical laughter. "I heard it was your idea to give me doughnuts this morning, Juliet."

"I-it was, Mama! I didn't want you to wake up sad like last night. We're going to the park today, you should be smilie like me!"

"_You_make me smilie," she grinned, setting the small child between them again and leaning back, sitting up against the headboard. "So, thank you."

"Welcome! I brought your sprinkly one with me in case you wanted it now. But I know how you feel about eating in bed so we can go downstairs, but, I brought it to show you. We got the ones with all the pretty colors, wanna see?"

"Well," Arizona smirked, folding her arms over her chest and giving Juliet a tiny nod of her head. "If you brought it all the way up here with you, I think we should eat it in bed."

Both Callie and Jules' heads snapped to Arizona's direction with wide eyes, they both blinked once, and then turned to look at one another in disbelief. "But _Mama_! It has crumbs! And itty bitty messy sprinkles! What about the sheets! Are you crazy?"

"We can wash the sheets," she waved her hand nonchalantly, grinning at their obvious disbelief. "My baby girl brought me a doughnut. And I want to eat it right now, please."

_"Are you kidding with me right now, Mama?_"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" She smiled sweetly, but she knew that Juliet would know she was serious.

"Cool! May I go down and get us all one? It can be a breakfast party! In bed! On the sheets! This is so exciting!"

"Yes, you may," Arizona laughed, rolling her eyes at the burst of energy from her daughter as she leapt from the bed and sprinted out of the door, the faint sounds of her scrambling across the hall and down the stairs sending both she and Callie into another fit of giggles.

"She's been like that all morning. Remind me again why I put up with you two and your...unusually perky dispositions, at ungodly hours?"

"Because we're both _so_...enchanting?"

"I can think of a few others words, but, that works, I suppose. Now c'mere beautiful girl, I missed you."

Instead of words, Arizona smiled, closed her eyes tight with a soft, complacent sigh and allowed her entire body to relax in Callie's embrace, feeling Callie smile into the base of her neck and tighten her grasp just a little more.

After a few moments, Callie's toes and their incessant bending and twitching and pushing into the bed next to Arizona's feet just became way too much. She knew Callie had something on her mind, she always did some sort of obscure movement with any part of her body that was free when she was thinking too hard or trying to hide something from Arizona. Sometimes it was finger tapping or she'd repeatedly drop the back of her heel off her foot and let it drop to the floor, admittedly driving the blonde absolutely insane. It was...endearing, however, that her body involuntarily needed some sort of escape when she was trying to keep her mouth shut to help placate her girlfriend's need to not talk about stressful things that plagued her.

"Calliope, your toes are doing that thing again. Are you going to tell me what you're thinking about? Or are we going to keep pretending something isn't on your mind?"

"I...uh...the ignoring thing? We can just keep doing that. I'll stop the foot thing. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. Just...tell me what you're thinking."

"You slept until eleven thirty. That never happens. You're always up at ungodly hours whether you want to be or not. So. Yeah. I know something's wrong. But, you don't want to talk about it. And my feet can't stop with the asking of the questions my mouth isn't allowed to. Not really sure what to do about it."

Arizona's fingers stilled in the path of their soothing swipes along the edge of the bed, and she took a deep breath, allowing herself to feel the air wrap around her tense muscles, and shook her head just slightly. She should have known she'd never be able to just...push this all aside. "Calliope..."

"No, it's...it's fine, really. I know how you felt about it last night, I'll drop it. I'm sorry. I'll just...go down and help Jules with the food so you can wake up a little more." She leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the side of the neck and quickly moved to shuffle out from under the covers.

Before she managed to extract any more of her limbs from under the blanket, Arizona caught Callie's wrist and pulled her back into the bed gently. "Calliope. Please. Don't go." She knew that  
even if Callie tried to hide it, she was attempting to give Arizona space that she simply didn't want.

"You don't want to talk, and you _know_me. I talk everything to death. So. I need to...leave. Before I upset you by pushing. I'm sorry."

"If you don't push me, I'm going to avoid talking for...as long as you let me. So, you need to...not give me the option."

"I know, really, I do. But I can tell you had a really bad night. And I don't want you to have to re-live that just to placate my incessant need to make things that are out of my control better for you."

When Callie closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, Arizona smiled and placed her palm gently against her cheek, leaning forward and kissing both of her eyes. The reason it was so difficult to resolve issues between them at times was that they each had an inexplicable need to make everything better for the other, which quite often got them absolutely nowhere.

"I know you're trying to protect me, that you compartmentalize the things that happen to you at work so you don't have to bring them home with you, but your life at work is just as much a part of you as we are. You need to learn to talk about it with me. I think it'll make things easier. You may think you're good at hiding things, but, I know you. I _feel_you. And I feel what you're going through. It kills me when you hide it. You need to tell me. So just...do that. Please?"

She took a deep breath and bit down slightly on her bottom lip. She knew she'd have to talk about it eventually, as a couple, they weren't really like that. They both tried to avoid things, not to avoid them, but moreso to protect the other from having to take on that extra bit of weight. They talked, about everything, it's what they did, it's who they were as a couple. They would be nowhere without that. Arizona knew that, and yet, it was still sometimes easier to put on a brave face.

"I lost two kids last night. Two beautiful little girls, sisters. The mother she...lost everything that night. I left the eldest, Melody for Karev to close up, and when he came into the OR and told me she had a brain bleed, the toddler I was working on coded and I worked for two more hours trying to keep her stable. Nothing would...I just...nothing was enough. And when I lost her, I pulled the sheet down to look at that little girl, stroked right behind her ear like I do with Juliet when she's scared, and then I rushed to scrub out and just...lost it. I didn't know how I was going to tell their mother that I'd handed both those girls a death sentence. And I cried for twenty minutes, slumped on the floor just...it was more than I could handle and it wasn't my right to cry. They weren't mine, y'know?"

"Arizona, I'm...so sorry. C'mere." She pulled Arizona into her and held on tight, knowing she'd need that extra little bit of tightness to continue.

"So, I composed myself and splashed water on my face and headed out to tell their mother. When I got there, she was slumped back into the waiting room chair, she was sitting the way you do, with her elbows on the armrests, totally scrunched up, her knees on another chair in front of her, her fingers out pressing together in front of her chest? And she was grasping at dog tags that were around her neck outside her shirt with her left hand occasionally. I watched her for a good ten minutes before I could walk toward her. She stood up and walked over to me and saw me looking at her tags and told me that they were her husband's, and he'd just been killed a few months prior on duty, and she was hoping he'd pull them through. And when I dropped my head she just, collapsed and I had to catch her, but I fell with her and we just kind of...kneeled there together crying. It was probably the worst time I'd ever had telling a parent their kid died. And it brought up all kinds of things with my brother and how my mother was when we were told. It was just...a really, really bad night.

"I really wish you would have called me. I'm just...so sorry. I..."

Arizona smiled softly and shook her head, lacing her fingers tightly through Callie's. "The best way you could have been there for me that night was to be _here_. Keeping _our_baby girl safe and happy. I...needed to come home to that. To you."

She wrapped her free hand around Callie's neck and stroked her thumb over the soft skin repeatedly, absentmindedly, soothing herself just as much by the action.

"I wish I could have been there to hold you in the scrub room or after or...something...I just...feel so useless because I wasn't there. Even if you needed me here with Jules. But, the night was good. It had a few bumps once you got home, but like always, we kind of...worked it out and it was...pretty perfect. Speaking of Jules, pretty sure she's never been gone this long when doughnuts are involved in her entire life. Think I should go check?"

"I'd say yes, but...I think I hear her."

The faint sound of a little voice floated up to them from the bottom of the stairs, and after the third or fourth loud, purposeful stomp of her feet, Arizona recognized that she was counting, with a tone of focused determination. She pushed herself up by her right elbow, craning her neck toward the open door in an attempt to hear her more clearly. "What do you think she's doing?"

"Probably trying not to fall up the stairs. She counts them all the time. Sometimes she makes it into a little song. It's really cute. 'One, two, three, four, don't stop counting or you'll fall onto the floor' that kind of thing. She's a big goof."

Arizona giggled along with her until she heard a pause in the melodic counting. There were a few brief moments filled with the sounds of Jules shuffling around before resuming her ascent, jumping loudly from each step to the next until she reached the landing. And when she appeared in the middle of the doorway, neither Arizona nor Callie could contain their laughter.

Juliet stood as tall as she could, boxes of doughnut held triumphantly over her head, which was adorned with Arizona's long-forgotten jeans from somewhere around step number five; they flowed endlessly behind her tiny body like a long, denim veil, making her quite possibly the most frustratingly adorable little girl they could possibly imagine.

"Mom, can I have a little help here? They're too big and I'm too small! I can't believe I made it up all those stairs without dropping them!"

Laughing, Arizona shot out of the bed, pushing Callie down in the process so she wouldn't get up, and ran over to help their daughter with her too big for me boxes. She moved them easily onto the table next to Callie's side of the bed and lifted Juliet into the air, tossing her into the middle of the mattress before leaping onto the bed next to her, half landing on Callie in the process.

"Hey! You two really need to stop stepping and falling and leaping onto me. It's really not fair. You both have bony feet and arms and just...bony everything, and it hurts! So stop it already."

"You love our bony everything." Juliet stated simply with a confident nod of her head, tossing the pant legs over her shoulder and giving her mother a linebacker shove with her shoulders into Callie's side. She sat back on her heels, placing her hands firmly on her hips and glancing back and forth between her mothers with a reproachful glare.

"Mama..." She began, pointing to the jeans wrapped around her head. "Can we talk about the mess you made?"

Callie and Arizona immediately shot each other wide eyed glares, and they both audibly gasped. "Your mama didn't make a mess, Jules."

"Lies. Are these, or are these not, her pants, Mom? And did I or did I not find them on the stairs? You can't fool me! I'll ask you again. Mama, why were your jeans on the steps?"

Arizona rolled her eyes to the ceiling, racking her brain for a plausible answer and coming up with nothing. "They...um...fell off. They fell off, and I was really tired, so...I guess I just..left them there."

"That's a bad excuse. I'd like you to try again, please."

Arizona narrowed her eyes, shooting Callie a glare for getting them into this situation. "Sometimes, certain kinds of messes are okay, Juliet."

"You tell me that no messes are okay. That they just make things...messy. And messy is hard to think in. So. If you can leave your clothes on the floor, then I can too. Innnnn fact, as your punishment, I'm going to have a clothes throwing party in my room right now. Because certain kinds of messes are allowed. Kay? Bye!"

She pushed herself away from Callie's embrace and rolled over top of her, bouncing slightly on her butt at the edge of the bed as she came out of her somersault tuck. In mid air, Callie grabbed her around the waist and threw her over on top of Arizona. "You're not going anywhere, missy."

"Oh, yes I am! Clothes throwing party awaits my arrival. I'm the guest of honor, after all."

"If I'm not mistaken, you were also the guest of honor at a breakfast in bed party. So. Make your decision wisely."

"I'd like to make a counter mess, thank you." Nodding her head once again and wriggling out of Arizona's bear hug, she stood up and placed a tiny foot on Callie's hip once more with a smirk. Turning her head to look at Arizona with her forehead raised, she pursed her lips. "So, I'll see you guys later?"

Arizona shrugged her shoulders with feigned disinterest and watched Juliet run from the room, grinning at Callie wickedly as she called out loudly, "Oh, Calliope, we should make sure we eat all of the doughnut holes first. They sound yummy."

Immediately, Juliet leaned back into the doorway, just barely popping her head into the room. "Your ploy will not work on me, Mama! You don't like doughnut holes!"

"You know, you're right, Jules. But unfortunately for you, I do. And I'm feeling particularly hungry this morning, so I may just have to gobble them all up. Sorry for your luck, kiddo. Have fun with your mess!"

She made the slightest hesitation, shuffling back and forth between her feet before shaking her head slightly and nodding in determination to her parents. She refused to let them win. "I will, thank you!"

Turning her head to face Arizona as Jules bolted from their room, skipping down the hallway, Callie shook her head. "You know we just lost that one, right? To a five year old. Proud of yourself? You've gotta have something better in that arsenal of comebacks and speeches of yours than 'we'll eat your food'. Seriously?"

Arizona narrowed her eyes playfully in response, giving her a quick kiss and chuckling against her lips. "Just...wait. It won't be long."

"Well, I'm at least going to empty her box into ours. Scare her a little when she comes running back in here for them. But, be prepared for her pout you can't resist. I can, of course, because I withstand yours, it's you I'm worried about. You kind of...suck at saying no when she pouts."

Completely disregarding those last few statements, Arizona's brain went into overdrive calculating how best to prank their child. "Ooooh, empty her box, that's good. Yeah. And we should probably put some crumbs in the bed. And on our lips too."

Cocking an eyebrow, Callie reached into the box, stole a side glance at her girlfriend, smirked, picked up a tiny doughnut, and quickly slammed it against Arizona's mouth, watching as it stuck and crumbled onto Arizona's shirt and mouth and the sheets too. "You mean, like this?"

Arizona gasped, immediately reaching into the box for another little doughnut and smashing it on Callie's lips. "No, more like this."

Callie's eyes widened and she locked her jaw. "You're dead." She sat up, shoving Arizona until she fell to her back on the bed. Climbing on top of her, pressing her knees into the mattress around Arizona's hips, Callie shifted her weight just slightly enough to make sure she got the attention she wanted, and when she heard the slight gasp, she knew she had Arizona right where she wanted her.

Reaching over and picking another hole out of the box, she leaned in real close to Arizona's face, holding it out in front of her, squishing it in her fist, and then allowing the ground down doughnut crumbs to fall all over the soft skin. Then, leaning further into her, she picked a piece up between her teeth next to the corner of the blonde's mouth, biting slightly. Smiling when she felt Arizona grab at the back of her shirt, she leaned down and kissed her firmly, her own bottom lip just under Arizona's.

Arizona smiled against Callie's lips and slid her hands under the front of her shirt, slowly digging her nails into the soft skin. She ran her tongue across Callie's top lip and gasped when Callie pushed her thigh swiftly between her legs. "Well," she growled, feeling her voice drop several octaves. "You taste _really_good."

"You'd be surprised how often I'm told that. You must be lucky or something to get to experience it this morning. I mean, because just the other day..."

Arizona growled once more, wrapping her hands around Callie's hips and pulling her closer. "You'd better be really careful about how you finish that sentence."

"Oh? Or what?"

"Or it'll be a very long time until _you_ get to see how good _I_taste."

"Hm. Well, I keep my options open, so, it's really not that big of a deal. I remember the nurse I worked with yesterday, what was her name? Uh...Alison, yeah. I distinctly remember her reaching into my lab coat and..."

"What in the world is going on in here, you two!"

Both heads snapping to the open door, completely caught, completely disappointed Juliet had interrupted yet again, Callie crinkled her brow and opened her mouth to speak, but when words didn't come to her, she closed her mouth promptly in contemplation. And then a small smile curled onto her lips. "Well, we were just going to have our own clothes throwing party. You were pretty adamant that's what your plans were, so, you should go enjoy yours so we can keep enjoying ours."

Arizona's eyes widened in disapproval, and she pinched Callie's side, whispering furiously. "_Seriously_?"

Callie shot her a glare. "Um, you're kidding, right? How many times has this happened in the last two weeks? Need I remind you?"

Tapping her foot anxiously and crossing her arms, Juliet glared at her mothers. "I'm waiting for my _adult_answer, Mom."

Callie grunted in disapproval and dropped her body unceremoniously onto the bed next to Arizona. "Ask your mother, she seems to have all the answers."

Arizona shook her head in disbelief at the fact that they had been interrupted. Again.

Unbelievable.

Deciding to shift the conversation in a different direction, she gave Juliet a curious smile. "What happened to your clothes throwing party, baby?"

"It got less fun once all my clothes were out of the dresser and on my floor, so I came in here to see what you guys were up to. No big deal. What _were_you guys up to, hm Mama?"

"Well," Arizona grinned, giving Callie a playful shove on her shoulder. "Your mom was kiiiinda being a meanie pants, actually."

"Yeah, she does that. No surprise there. So, what?"

"What do you mean, 'what'?"

"Mom being mean happens all the time, so, it doesn't actually, y'know, explain what you were doing. Hors de sujet, Mama."

"Parfois, les petites filles n'ont pas besoin de toutes les réleponses, Juliet."

Juliet smiled sweetly at her mother's fluent French, and then smirked when she came up with her own response. "Celui-ci ne."

Callie leaned back into the bed and smiled, turning her head back and forth in an Arizona vs. Juliet French tennis match. She could understand vaguely what they were saying, but it was almost just as much fun _not_to know. Their daughter really was too smart for her own good. Especially if she thought she was the exception to all other little girls in not needing answers to every question, as Arizona had informed her.

"Vous saurez un jour, jolie fille."

"_But, Mama!_I don't want to wait that long, I wanna know now!"

"You'll just have to," she nodded firmly and beckoned with one finger for the little girl to join them on the bed. Because as much as she desperately wanted to be alone with Callie again, she just couldn't help but need to have Juliet in her arms as soon as possible.

Juliet's eyes widened slightly in excitement at her mother's offer, Sunday morning snuggling was her absolute favorite, after all. And then just as she went to sprint across the room, she caught herself and halted, looking to the ceiling in thought. "You two ate some of my doughnut holes, didn't you?"

Arizona grinned and winked at Callie, surveying the mess of crumbs surrounding them. "I...don't know if 'ate" is really the best word for it."

"You mean, you _wasted_ them? Are you _serious_right now?"

Arizona shifted guiltily under the scrutiny of Juliet's glare. "I...no?"

"Incorrect. You're _so_busted. You're so mean to me! Déloyale!"

Callie shook her head. "You really need to stop with the smart. It's mildly annoying, Jules. Just c'mere and stop using that big brain of yours and snuggle with your parents like a normal five year old would."

Juliet hesitated, but then grinned and ran at full speed towards the bed, leaping into the space between her mothers and burrowing under the covers. "It's not _my_fault you don't know French, Mom."

"Is that what you think? Just because I don't speak with you two, doesn't mean I don't know it. I can follow along perfectly fine, thank you very much. And we aren't mean, nor are we unfair, missy. Plus, I totally saved you a few in our box so that your Mama wouldn't steal them and eat them. Not mean, je suis agreable toujours."

Both Arizona and Juliet's heads snapped into focus directly on Callie and both exclaimed at the exact same time, Juliet's English ghosting over Arizona's French, "Seriously? Sérieusement?" In turn, they both shot each other a look and cracked up laughing, Juliet throwing herself back onto the bed.

All three of them enjoyed a healthy round of laughter before Juliet arched her back and crab crawled her way between her parents, plopping promptly onto the mattress and sprawled her arms and legs out over top of both Callie's neck and Arizona's face. "Did ya miss me?"

"Not really, no," Callie responded, picking her daughter's hand off her neck and dropping it onto the little girl's chest. "What about you, Arizona?"

"Well, she was only gone for ten minutes. Maybe less," she mused, sliding Juliet's legs away from her face and pushing them back under the covers. "So, didn't really have much time to miss you, kiddo."

"But, I'm just so cute! You have to have missed me, even a little bit. Come on, you don't fool me!"

"We always miss you. Even when we're with you. C'mere." As Juliet snuggled into her side, reaching behind her to pull Callie closer to them, Arizona smiled softly at her girlfriend and sighed in contentment. "You two really do take bad nights and turn them into perfect mornings. I love you both, so much. Thank you for being mine."

A few moments of silence passed before Arizona felt Juliet's little toes rubbing into the sheets next to her knee, and just like her mother, Arizona knew this meant she was trying desperately to keep something bottled up inside, trying not to disrupt the comfortable silence that had fallen over them.

"Juliet. Your toes are asking questions I can't understand, would you like to just tell me?" Arizona whispered while smoothing Juliet's hair behind her ears and away from her face.

Juliet tilted her head up to look Arizona in the eyes with a big goofy grin spread across her face. "Mama, can we make Christmas as perfect as Halloween turned out to be?"

Arizona sighed, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the top of Juliet's head. "Yes, of course. It'll be even more perfect than Halloween."

Callie took the arm she had around Arizona's waist and lifted her hand to run her thumb along the top of Arizona's forearm, and shot her a warm smile and gave her a small wink and a firm nod, closing her eyes as she did so.

"Mama, I know you don't make promises, but please will you promise just this one time?"

"Je vous promets." As Juliet closed her eyes and breathed in a slow, satisfied breath, she buried her face a little more deeply into Arizona's shirt, grasping at the bottom of it with her little fist and let out a long sigh of contentment.

"I love you both, times a bunches."

"We love you, too. More than anything little one."


	5. Of Princesses & Protectors

**CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

Late at night was when Juliet felt the quiet in their house the most, when she paid attention to the absence of one of her mothers the most. There were no footsteps, no whispering, no Disney movies or people talking to her about animals in the ocean, which was currently her favorite _Planet Earth_ DVD. One thing that always made her feel safe and aware was noise. She just needed to _feel_ the things around her so she didn't feel alone, and sometimes, hearing herself or other people helped to do just that. Many of the people she loved thought she was loud, repetitive, and always had a million things pouring out of her mouth. Even when she slept, she talked in her sleep. She was never just _quiet_.

Callie never faulted her for that; she saw past the noise and realized that Juliet had so much to contribute and not enough experiences yet to find a social balance. She loved words, she loved learning, and she loved when people listened to her. There was certainly no doubt that she was intelligent far beyond her years, but she had so much to say and became so excited when she learned something new, she just didn't know what to do with it all. For her mothers' sanity, as soon as the sun went down she was supposed to use her "inside voice" exclusively. No yelling or jumping around the house or anything that was really fun for the little one. She'd crawl up on the back of the couch and watch her movies, or she'd snuggle between Arizona and Callie while they read and looked through her picture books.

She hated the quiet, and she hated the nighttime when she had to talk softly, and after she brushed her teeth and was read to, she hated being left on her own in the dark with all that _silence_. The one thing that she looked forward to most was when she was pretty sure that her mothers didn't practice what they preached. She'd always hear them laughing together in their room until well after her and their bed times, which, if you asked her, was a little irresponsible for two people with grown up important jobs like being doctors.

She'd lie in bed, her arms tucked tightly under her quilt at her side, and just...wait. She'd wait until she could hear the creaking of the wooden floors stop, for the sink to run while they brushed their teeth. She had their ritual memorized so she could watch it like a movie in her head, even though she couldn't be with her moms. But sometimes, one of them had to work late into the night; they'd be saving tiny babies or people with broken arms or legs. She missed the laughing on nights like these. She always waited until she heard the laughter before she could sleep. It helped her fall, knowing that her Mama wasn't having bad dreams, and that her mom wasn't stressed after a long night at work. She couldn't sleep if one of them couldn't.

If one of them was working late and she had a nightmare, she'd sit in the big, fluffy blue chair by her bedroom window and read until she couldn't keep her eyes open, mostly to make sure the monsters in her closet remembered exactly who was in charge of that room. Without both of her mothers in the house to tell it who's boss, she just didn't trust it, so she kept guard until they both were home. She wondered if her Mama knew that she wasn't in bed sleeping, kind of like how Juliet knew when Arizona couldn't sleep. She knew Arizona probably wouldn't get mad because her dreams made it scary for her to fall asleep too.

When her mom was gone, they both missed her a lot. Even if Juliet was somehow able to fall asleep, she missed Callie in her dreams. She couldn't understand why Callie had to work so late and get home so early, but she knew it was probably one of those grown-up things that she was always told she was too young to understand. She hated those things. Sometimes she just wished things weren't too "adult" for her and she could be part of the big people conversations.

That particular evening, she could hear her mother flipping noisily through a book and listening to music in their room, so she knew she wasn't alone in her tossing and turning and insomnia. She wondered what Arizona had had a nightmare about, and, more importantly, she wondered if she'd be able to get Arizona to tell her what she dreamed about.

It wasn't something Juliet ever talked to her mother about: the fact that she knew Arizona had nightmares that kept her awake too. Sometimes it was better to let her Mama tell her that nothing could ever hurt her, nightmares included, and not bring up the fact that Arizona herself suffered from them too. Sometimes she could hear her mothers talking late at night after Arizona had had one, how her mom would calm her down and snuggle her close and make her talk about it long enough to get it out of her mind and then they'd talk about Juliet. They'd talk and laugh and make a happy memory to replace the bad ones that haunted Arizona's dreams.

Juliet loved hearing them talk after the nightmares, even if it made her sad that her mama had them. Hearing them laugh together made Juliet's nightmares go away too, it made her feel safe and loved and even if they weren't in the same room together, it made her feel like a family.

But tonight, Juliet knew that Callie was at work, and it worried her that her mama was all alone in her big bedroom with nobody to snuggle her close or make her laugh. And if her mom wasn't home to make Arizona feel better, then she would just have to do it herself.

She closed her book and ran across her room as quickly as she could, making a wide circle around the closet door just in case. Her first instinct was to sprint across the hall into her parents' bedroom, but thought twice about it when her first step onto the polished hardwood floor sent her sliding forward gracelessly. Not wanting to scare her mother, she tiptoed to the half-closed door, pushed it open, and stood as quietly as she could with her hand resting on the frame of the door, peering back behind her once just in case a monster had decided to follow her out of her room. As soon as she saw Arizona, she knew that she had made the right decision by coming to be with her. While she always thought her mama was the most prettiest person in the world (other than her mom, of course), Juliet thought her mother looked prettiest when she was reading; she had to wear glasses to see the words better, but they made her look smart. Sometimes, Juliet felt like she could just look at Arizona for hours, but she never managed to be quiet enough to get away with it undetected.

Taking one last quick peek over her shoulder, she stood about face and placed her arms behind her back and rocked a little forward on her toes with a beaming smile, waiting for her mother to notice her presence. Juliet knew how much her mama hated surprises, and if she'd had a nightmare, she knew Arizona would be a little more jumpy than usual, so she thought it best to greet her with a smile instead of her words.

However, Arizona knew what was up. She spotted the little one out of the corner of her glasses as she turned the corner of a page. This seemed to be the game they played with each other more than any other; Arizona would push Juliet to the farthest boundaries of her patience until she looked as though she would literally burst from pent-up thoughts and energy. It was almost always a close call, but Arizona generally outlasted her daughter; she _really_hated to lose. Especially to a five-year-old.

A few moments passed that felt like hours and Juliet was quickly becoming bored and restless and a little annoyed that her mama _still_hadn't noticed her. Especially when she was smiling so nicely just for her. She crinkled her brow in frustration and gave a little huff, promptly dropping her arms to her side in a pouting punch of the air.

"Helllllooooo? Mama! I'm smiling here just for you, and you didn't even notice. So rude."

Arizona glanced at Juliet over her glasses before returning her attention to her book, trying and failing to suppress a smile. It was just so easy sometimes. "I'm sorry, Juliet, but you'll just have to try to be more interesting than what I'm reading."

"But, I'm Juliet. I'm _always_interesting and funny and cute. You're just mistaken, Mama. Try again."

Arizona sighed and gave her daughter a teasing glare before marking her place and closing the book, placing it gently on Callie's pillow and patting the bed next to her for Juliet to join her. "Okay, you win, c'mere."

Juliet bounced gleefully up and down in place before taking a running leap onto the bed, crawling clumsily over Arizona's legs to join her with her back pressed against the headboard

"_Finally_. May I be in mom's spot while she's at work?"

"Of course you may," Arizona laughed as Juliet hummed in satisfaction, snuggling her body into Callie's pillow. Looking over at the book Arizona had lain there, she picked it up and examined it, flipping haphazardly and crumpling and folding through the pages with a perplexed look on her face. Grown-up books always looked so boring, which was why she regularly offered for her mothers to borrow any of the ones in her room, though they always politely declined.

"Whatcha readin', Mama? This doesn't look very fun to me."

"Oh? Do you not like the classics all of a sudden?"

"This isn't classic! There aren't any pretty pictures of the Sherlock mouse, Basil or Princes or Princesses like in the books _I_read."

"You're supposed to make the pictures in your head while you're reading," she explained, tapping Juliet's forehead twice. "That's the best part."

"Grown-ups are weird. Pictures are more fun. Aren't you gonna ask me what I was reading in my room?" she said as she lifted her eyebrows animatedly in her mother's direction.

"You mean, when you should have been in bed, asleep?"

Juliet laughed nervously. So, she _did_know about that.

"Oh, no, I...I meant before bed. I don't know what you're talking about, because I was sleeping."

"Riiiight," Arizona nodded seriously, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms over her chest. "Because you always happen to be awake and smiling your face off at my door at," she glanced at the clock, "2:07 a.m.?"

"Anyway," she cut off her mother's speech with a wave of her little hand, dismissing her sarcasm. "I was reading about Cody and the Bianca and Bernard mice people and the big eagle and I heard you in here making loud pages too, so I thought I'd come and ask you what you were reading."

"Hmm, I don't know if you've read this one..." She joked, taking the novel from Juliet's hands and flipping delicately to the back cover of the book, glancing over its summary. "But it's called _Wuthering Heights__._It's a love story, about a man who grows up with a girl and falls in love with her, but gets really mad when she decides to marry someone else and..."

"You know how in my big books there is always a prince and a princess and they always end up living happy ever after? I like those stories. But...wouldn't that make mom your Disney prince in your happy ever after?" Juliet interrupted.

Arizona, startled by the abrupt change of subject, inhaled deeply through her nose and looked up to the ceiling briefly before closing her eyes and forcing herself to relax. She had _really_not prepared herself to have this conversation for at least another year or two, and certainly not without Callie to assist her through it. Realistically, she should have expected that her genius daughter would piece things together more quickly than most children, especially once she started school, but she also didn't expect to discuss it in the middle of the night during their impromptu nightly nightmare book club meeting.

"Well," she began cautiously, sneaking a glance at her daughter's intrigued expression from the corner of her eye, "Your mom is...she's more like my...Princess Charming."

"But my books never have _two _princesses," Juliet argued, shaking her head vehemently. She just wanted to understand. If there were two princesses in _their_house, why did she never read about it?

"Let me ask you this, sweetie, do you think your mom and I love each other like the characters in your books do? No matter what and never ending?"

"Yes, of course, Mama! Even when you yell at each other, you always make it better before morning and you are always happy and laugh together. I guess that's how the people in my books are."

"But the difference is," Arizona explained, placing her palm under Juliet's hand resting on the mattress between them; her heart would probably always skip a beat at the feeling of those tiny fingers lacing through her own. "What your mom and I have is better than the people in your books because it's _real_."

"Then why do all my books have icky boys in them, when we don't have a boy in our family except Papa and Uncle Mark? And they don't count. Why don't you have a prince charming too?"

Arizona sighed; this was proving to be even more difficult than she had expected it to be. "Because sometimes, princesses love other princesses instead of a prince charming. And that's okay."

"But, not in my books." Juliet had learned that in her mother's world, things usually had a tendency to be either one thing or the other. Messy or clean. Loud or quiet. Right or wrong. She had yet to encounter a circumstance like this one, where there could be an exception to the general rule. But if her mama believed something to be true, then she would believe in it too; she was _always_right.

"That's true, but just because a lot of people don't write about it in your books, doesn't mean it's not a good thing. Your mom and I love each other very much, and we love you even more. Someday it might be two princesses or two princes in your books, you never know."

"Yeah, someone should write about that. I'd read it. Especially if the princesses were like you and mom. You can be pretty cute sometimes."

Arizona smiled, but could hardly open her mouth before Juliet spoke again.

"Mama?"

She squeezed her hand lightly and bent down to give her a soft kiss on the top of her head, smiling into her hair; she seemed to love this little girl more and more by the hour. "Yes?"

"You're probably the luckiest person in all of happily ever after world."

"Oh?" Arizona grinned, both intrigued and a little amused. That was not what she was expecting to hear. "Why do you say that?"

"Because my mom is the best ever. And...and she's really pretty. And really funny. And likes to play with kids whenever she's not at work. _And_she takes care of us when we have nightmares. What's better than that?"

"There is _nothing_better than that," she agreed, because Juliet was totally, completely right.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Arizona nudged Jules playfully with her elbow, resulting in a mad burst of giggles. She was ridiculously ticklish. "So...do you want to talk to me about why you're really in here?"

"Because Mom isn't home to snuggle with you or make you laugh again."

The honest explanation took her by surprise; was their daughter exceptionally perceptive, or were they just obliviously in love? It was, more than likely, a combination of the two. "You're right...she's not home, but you didn't have to stay awake because of that."

"Of course I did, Mama. Who else is gonna do it if Mom doesn't? Someone's gotta keep you from being sad or scared."

"I'm okay, kiddo. I'm not scared. Or sad."

"You're lying...Mama?"

"Hm?"

"Will you tell me about your bad dream? My mom always makes you talk about them and then she makes you laugh. And I like the laughing best, it helps me sleep, so...will you pretty please tell me about your bad dream so we can get to the laughing quicker?"

"Sometimes it's less scary to talk about bad dreams, Juliet. Even if you want to help, I think my adult dreams might be too scary for you to know about. Wouldn't want your little person brain to dream about scary big person things too. I know you have bad dreams like I do."

Juliet nodded solemnly. "Mostly every single night."

"I know, sweetie. That's why we always leave your stack of favorite books by your big blue chair after you've fallen asleep, because we know that you wake up and read them in the middle of the night. You know it's okay that you have bad dreams, right?"

"Yeah, it's okay. I know." She sighed, twisting her fingers in the sheets tangled around her legs. Her mother had enough to worry about without adding in Juliet's nightmares. "They're not really _that_scary anyway."

They both knew she was lying, evidenced by the number of nights she came barreling straight into Arizona's arms after a particularly disturbing dream sequence, but she decided to let it slide this time. "But if they were, you'd tell me about them, wouldn't you?"

"I don't know." She considered the question briefly. "You won't tell me about yours, Mama."

"I know, but...sometimes your mom and I have to protect you from things you aren't ready to hear about. Even though you've got the brain of a teenager, sometimes we want to make the world a little less scary and sad for you for just a little bit longer. Do you understand?"

"But you told me that lying about sadness hurts more than telling the truth about pain."

Arizona searched the corners of her mind for that particular pearl of wisdom; she couldn't recall saying it, but it certainly sounded like her. "Do you remember _everything_I tell you?"

"You're my mama! You're really smart and you say really good things to me sometimes, I always try my hardest to remember them. Do you remember everything _I_ tell _you_?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I do. You're the smartest little girl I know. "

"You're my smartest mama I know, too. We're good together, aren't we?"

"We're _great_ together," she grinned, "Just don't tell your mom that. She thinks _she's_your favorite."

"Oh, but she is! You're just my double favorite because you're just like me!"

"Okay. Fair enough."

Arizona smiled and adjusted her position, lying on her side facing Juliet and snuggling into Callie's pillow with her. It was comfortably quiet once more, with Jules twirling her fingers through Arizona's hair and humming softly to herself, something that sounded a little bit like a song from _Fantasia_and a little bit like it came straight from her own head. She didn't need to say it out loud; they both knew that Arizona had really needed this to get her mind to relax enough to fall asleep again. Which, thankfully, she was just about to do, when she was coaxed away from hazy unconsciousness by Juliet's unusually calm, quiet voice.

"Mama?"

"Hmm?" She murmured drowsily.

"Will you tell me about your sad dream? Even though you think I'm too little? I want to make you laugh. But before I can, you have to tell me. Because you never laugh before mom makes you tell her about them. Please, please tell me?"

This wasn't anything like Juliet's typical inquisitive need to have all of the information; she was genuinely concerned for her mother and wouldn't be able to let it go until her mind was put at ease. Arizona rolled slowly onto her back, stretching out as many of her muscles as she possibly could, feeling the tension build in them already. As much as she was displeased, she knew there was really no way around this.

"Okay. But I'm gonna need you to be a little bit closer to me if I'm going to tell you about it."

Still taking her Halloween costume dead seriously even months later, Juliet smiled, nodded, and proceeded to curl up like a kitten in a ball against her mother's side, sighing comfortably as Arizona began to run her fingers through Juliet's long curls.

"Okay. I'm ready."

Arizona drew in a shaky breath. She wished she could say the same.

"Well, this one was about Audrey."

"You mean my best friend Audrey? Oh, Mama, I love her so much! Last time I went to the hospital, she was there and I visited her and we played some games together. She told me she was going to be a doctor when she grows up. I told her that was a baaad idea if she ever wants to get any sleep for the rest of her life. And then she asked me what I want to be when _I_grow up, and I said I'm probably going to be a mermaid or an astronaut. But you know, mermaids probably don't get very much sleep either since they're always, always swimming, and..."

Arizona smiled softly, nodding encouragingly in the right places to motivate the story along. One of the best things about having discussions with Juliet was that it would take her little to no prompting to launch into an epic tale, allowing her mind to stray and tune out the babble of Juliet's enthused storytelling long enough to organize her thoughts.

Arizona had only been at Seattle Grace for a little over ten years, and while the time flew by and the patients blurred together with time, one patient remained a constant. In her fourth year there, she and Callie had started to discuss children as if they were a definite possibility, as opposed to just the agreement there may one day be a baby in their future. They talked about life goals and career ambitions, vacations they wanted to take together, clinical trials they wanted to attempt, buying a home, getting a puppy, all the things a couple thinks about and discusses before they take the leap and start planning for a baby. And then came the discussion of names. They'd always kept that part on the back burner, perhaps just in case one or the other changed their minds, or perhaps, if it wasn't physically possible for them to have a baby, so they didn't lose all hope. They were also under the firm belief that a child fills into his or her name the moment they're welcomed into the world. They had two for a baby girl.

Obviously, when she arrived, she was most definitely a Juliet Michele through and through, but there was always that second name that hung in the balance somewhere that never left their minds. Not long after Juliet's birth, Arizona had a patient come in by the name of Audrey Grace. Blonde curls, bright, sparkling eyes, and a smile that made even the worst day better, and from the moment Arizona laid eyes on her, she knew that this girl was special. That maybe she was even the version of Juliet if they had named her Audrey instead. The odds of this patient having the same name as what their daughter almost had were next to nothing, and once she got to know the girl as a nine year old, she had an instant bond with her. As did Callie. Every time she'd come in for bimonthly treatments, they both made an effort to spend a little extra time together.

As Juliet grew, the two became the best of friends. Audrey would sit and listen to Juliet's incessant babbling as an infant, play games with her and read her stories, and Callie and Arizona would have lunch with her parents and see how she was doing in school and coping with her disease. It was a nice, cozy little ritual they had. As they grew up together, Juliet fell in love with Audrey, and she'd ask every single time she was at the hospital if she could visit Audrey, whether or not that particular day coincided with the appointment markings on a little calendar on the back of her door that Audrey gave her one year for her birthday. So she would always know what days her best friend would be in the hospital. It was cute and it lightened the teenager's spirits while she received her treatments. The closeness of the two girls was a huge contributing factor to the terror her mind allowed her to feel in the middle of the night when she was sleeping.

Suddenly, Juliet took a deep breath, indicating that she had reached a breaking point in her story.

"...And also, I know she's our favorite because her name could have been my name, had _your_Mama's name not been Michele and she woulda killed you if you didn't name me after her."

Arizona laughed, recalling that particularly threatening voicemail just days before she went into labor. Her mother was nothing if not insistent. "Wait, how did you know about that?" .

Juliet looked at her condescendingly, as though she couldn't believe she had the audacity to ask such a question. "I know everything. Continue."

Even without trying, and even when Arizona was struggling to tell her something really difficult, she still managed to catch her off guard and make her smile. Just like Callie would.

"I know you're not supposed to have favorites. I know that. But, she is, without question, my favorite patient. She reminds me of you, y'know."

Juliet turned her face upwards toward her mother in pleasant surprise. "She does?"

Arizona nodded, her chin colliding softly with the top of her little head. "She's like you, all grown up with pretty blonde hair and big, bright eyes. Always saying things that surprise me in the best way. Too smart for her own good."

Juliet poked Arizona softly in protest. She was exactly as smart as she was supposed to be.

"Do you remember on Halloween, when I was very sad and I told you how I worry about you being like one of my sick kids?"

She nodded, snuggling a little closer and resting her head on her mother's chest, breathing in time with her quickened heartbeat. "I remember."

"Well, we _were_ going to name you Audrey Grace, just like your Audrey. And I just know you're going to grow up to be just like her, and just like me, with that bouncy hair and those sparkly eyes. But, you see, in my dream, when we drop you off for your best friend 'no adults allowed' play dates with Audrey while we eat dinner, everything is fine. But when I come back up to get you, _you're_the one in the hospital gown and with tubes in your arms and you're the one that's sick, only you're all grown up. And I say your name over and over and over again, but you never answer me."

Juliet gulped, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why don't I answer you?"

Arizona shook her head, feeling the tears burn behind her eyes without allowing them to escape. "I always wake up before I can get to you and figure that out."

Juliet could hear her mother crying behind her words, so she scrambled up to sit on her knees, staring down at Arizona earnestly. "Do you want to know what I think, Mama?"

Arizona laughed once and nodded, wiping away a few stray tears. "I do."

"You remember how Mom always tells you that you're twenty steps ahead, and sometimes you just need to breathe and feel the right now? I think you should do that."

"She does say that, doesn't she?" Arizona smiled. She would have never expected to turn to her little girl for emotional support, but it turned out that she might just understand her better than anyone else. "Thank you for reminding me of that."

Juliet grinned, making her eyes crinkle at the corners. "No problem. Why do you think you have bad dreams like that all the time? I'm not scary. Audrey's not scary."

"Well, like your mom says, I think about everything twenty steps ahead, and when I look at you, you're just growing up _so_fast. Too fast for your own good."

They shared a smile and Juliet leaned down to give her a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. "And when I think of you as a teenager, I think of Audrey, because she _is_you as a teenager. And when I think about that, I worry that you might end up sick like her too."

"I hope I end up like her!" She exclaimed. "She's smart and pretty and she has the best nail polish colors. She had a lime green and purple swirls on the last time, and she promised she'd teach me how to do it one day."

Arizona shook her head slowly and exhaled in a huff of quiet frustration; that wasn't quite what she meant by that.

"And plus," Juliet continued, "she tells me how scared she gets sometimes and then when I give her a big hug, she tells me that it's okay to be scared, but as long as you always make today a happy memory, it makes tomorrow a lot less scary."

Finally accepting that the tears were just going to stream down her face whether she liked it or not. Arizona beamed with pride. She didn't know exactly what she had done to deserve such an incredible child, such an amazing family, but she would gladly do it a thousand times over again.

"And anyway," Juliet reasoned, placing her hand on Arizona's shoulder, "I think...I think if you spend all of your dream time worrying about what _might_ happen to me when I get older, you won't have as much time to have fun with me and love me right _now_." She nodded firmly and raised her eyebrows expectantly with a small smile, indicating the end of her speech.

"I think you're just as smart and wise as your mom is. I'm glad you came in here tonight with that big goofy grin and _my_scrub top and your baby blue nails that I'll need to have a talk with Audrey about the next time she comes in for treatment."

"But Mama! She made them look so pretty! I begged her to do it, and I promised not to tell. Do you promise not to tell her that I told you, because I swears I didn't! I kept my mouth quiet this time, I know I did."

"Juliet, I can guarantee that we won't be discussing whether or not you told on her. We'll be talking about the fact that you're too young for nail polish!"

"But," Juliet pouted. "That's not fair. Mom painted my toenails before while you were at work. The only nail polish in here is yours, and I can't help it that you have ugly colors. Audrey's are shiny and pretty!"

"Sweetie, you're just digging yourself deeper and deeper here, so for the sake of your mother and your best friend, I think it's a good idea we stop talking about whether or not I have ugly nail polish, which I do not. Okay? Do you want to tell me about your bad dream next?"

"Oh, it was no big deal," Juliet shrugged. "The monster in my closet escaped his cage and Mom is at work so she couldn't put it back in there for me. He only likes my bed, so I just got up and went to sit on my chair."

Arizona sighed in understanding. "We're so lucky to live with the only woman on the planet who can reason with a monster."

"Mama, may I ask you another question?"

Arizona watched her daughter begin to shift nervously in place, running her legs up and down the sheets and reaching out from under Callie's pillow with the hand that wasn't still grasping onto the seams of Arizona's shirt.

"You may. What's wrong?" Arizona rubbed up and down Juliet's leg soothingly, urging her to sit still. She would only make it harder to get back to sleep eventually if she got all wound up again.

"Usually, if I read six books after I wake up, Mom is home by the time I'm done. And I read six books and I came in here for a long time too. My mom isn't home yet and," Juliet stuck her lower lip out and inhaled deeply, looking up and blowing out the air forcefully at a curl that had made its way over her eyes. "I can't sleep without her home. Is...something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, baby girl," Arizona assured, with a soft smile and a soft kiss to the blonde's forehead as Juliet jumped up and wrapped her arms around her neck in a crushing hug. "I'm sure she's in an emergency surgery or something. You don't need to worry, okay?"

"But, I miss her and I'm getting sleepy. I can't go to sleep without my mom home, I really can't!"

"Okay," Arizona conceded, swiftly sweeping Juliet into her arms and laying her on the bed at her side. "What if you sleep in here with me?"

Juliet took a moment to contemplate her options. If she stayed in bed with her Mama, she could make sure she didn't have any more bad dreams _and_know the exact second that Callie came home. Totally a good plan.

"One condition."

"Yes, miss bossy pants?"

"May I go get my Jungle Book movie and watch it while I fall asleep? Pretty please?"

"Okay. That sounds do-able. On one condition."

"Name your demand."

"Do you _promise_," Arizona began, speaking slowly and seriously, "to sing all of the songs to me?"

Juliet's face lit up and she leapt up and started jumping on the bed in excitement of being allowed to make noise and sing after quiet hours. But only for a brief moment, before realizing that jumping on the bed was a _big_ no-no in their household, immediately stopping mid-air and landing on her butt with a small _oomph!_

"Do you promise to sing with me?"

"As loudly as you want, kiddo."

Eyes widening in delight, Juliet snuck one look at her mother as she scooted off the bed, almost in slow motion as to enunciate the fact that she wasn't rushing or jumping or anything else to push her luck with the quiet rule. Shuffling towards the stairs to get her movie, she promptly sat on her little butt and scaled down the stairs like popcorn in the microwave, bouncing along until she hit the bottom.

Arizona reached for her phone on the nightstand, sending a quick text message to Callie letting her know their daughter would be sleeping with them tonight and that she'd have to turn off that ridiculous movie before she got into bed _again_, but that all was well and that they both missed her. Just as she placed the phone carefully down next to the alarm clock, as she heard the quiet repetition of numbers that announced Juliet's ascent to the top of the stairs.

She skipped through the bedroom door, making a beeline for the DVD player, bouncing up and down impatiently as the device whirred to life. As soon as the movie previews began playing, she made quick work of dashing across the room to turn off the light and then jumped onto the bed, stepping on Arizona in several places before finally settling down on Callie's side of the soft, warm mattress. She curled up on her side, turning to face Arizona as she wrapped her arms around Callie's pillow. "Did I make you feel safe tonight?"

Arizona smiled softly and nodded, burrowing deeper under the covers and ignoring the feeling of Juliet's ice cold feet, with the ridiculous blue nail polish, sliding under her legs to get warm. "You always do."

"Good," Juliet yawned, her eyes fluttering closed as Arizona hummed along with the first notes played in the movie. "Don't be afraid to tell me if you need me, Mama."

Arizona simply moved closer, continuing to hum the theme song of her movie softly to her as Juliet mumbled sleepy, unintelligible words that flowed seamlessly between English and French, as she often did right before she fell asleep. She knew that, within minutes, they would both be sound asleep, and quietly marveled over the fact that no one had ever made her feel quite as safe as this precocious, wonderful little girl.


	6. Of Excursions & Coercions

CHAPTER FOUR

* * *

Callie and Arizona were surprised at how well Juliet did on her first plane ride. She bounced along to her music for the first half and watched her DVDs for the other half. She didn't fuss, didn't get up to go to the bathroom incessantly, didn't bother anyone. She _did _have a discussion about clouds with the man sitting directly in front of her, but he seemed to enjoy it just as much as she had. They were both abundantly thankful for that because, knowing their daughter, it really could have gone either way. With promises of hugs and kisses from Papa and Grandma, who she affectionately called "Michele," she kept to herself and was respectful of the other passengers.

It had been two years since Arizona or Callie had been back home. One of the benefits of both having moved to another state away from their parents was that they rarely were _with _their parents. The downfall being, of course, that Juliet was unable to spend time with her grandparents. Luckily, this year for Easter holiday, the family of three decided to take a trip to Arizona's family's vineyard to spend some quality time with Arizona's parents and siblings.

By the time they arrived, Arizona's parents meeting them at baggage claim to exchange hugs and collect the ridiculous amount of luggage for just three people, everyone was exhausted. Juliet passed out in her Grandpa's arms, snoring away without a care in the world. Her mothers, after having traveled with a kid old enough to ask questions and want to see _everything_ in the airport and meet _everyone _within a five-mile radius, fell asleep on each other's shoulders in the back seat.

When Arizona and Callie woke up late the next morning, Juliet and her Grandfather were making breakfast together, Juliet occasionally dropping pieces of cooked bacon to the dogs and giggling as they licked her fingers with their tongues. Their kitchen overlooked a small, but tasteful, vineyard, the sun creating a warm glow over the trees in the backdrop behind their house. It'd always been Arizona's favorite place in the entire world, riding horses and taking long walks through the grove in the winter. It was her sanctuary.

After everyone stuffed their faces and listened to Juliet brag about how she and her Papa had cooked the whole meal just for them, they retired to their rooms to prepare for the day. Arizona's mother had gleefully informed them that she was taking them Easter dress shopping and that they needed to 'hurry up' because there was 'not time for funny business'.

Callie and Juliet were displeased. Arizona was stoked.

As they shuffled down the stairs, Juliet practically riding down on the black lab's back, they were greeted with a huge, overzealous smile from her mother, and her father trying his best to avoid eye contact.

Something was up. Nobody gets _that _excited about shopping with a five year old.

**  
"But moooom, I don't wanna go. I hate big frilly dresses and I hate trying things on and I hate, _hate _shopping. Don't make me go!"

Jules stood, hands on her hips with an emphasized pout, stomping her foot in place in front of her mom who was trying diligently, but failing miserably, to get her daughter in her coat so they could leave.

"If I have to go, you have to go, that's the rule."

With that, Jules threw her hands in the air and started pacing back and forth across the hardwood floor, scowl firmly in place as she ranted in broken French. It'd figure that this little one, knowing all three languages, would rant to the opposite parent in the language they were least familiar with. Callie couldn't _wait _for her to be a teenager.

"Jules, I hate shopping too, trust me, I'd much rather be building with your Papa, but I got stuck going shopping with you guys. Isn't it a little funny that your Mama has to build something? Outside? And that she has to get dirty? That fact alone should be worth suffering through finding a dress."

Jules stopped dead in her tracks and Callie watched as her eyes widened and mouth dropped open in excited shock.

"Wait. Are you telling me that my _Mama _has to get dirty in the garden building with Papa? That's...that's...the best thing I've heard in my entire life! I gotta see this!"

With that, Jules took off toward the back door, but Callie was able to catch her just in time, lifting her off the floor into a bear hug.

"As much as I'd _love_ to witness that too, _you _have a date with a department store for an Easter dress. But nice try kid."

"But Mooooom, I just wanna stay here with my Mama and get dirty and messy and build things! It's not fair!"

Just then, as Callie wrestled the kid into her coat, Arizona's mother walked into the room, making Jules do a flip over Callie arms to escape. Landing perfectly on her feet, she took off as soon as she hit the floor, chancing a sly glance back before running right into Barbara Robbins' awaiting arms.

How she managed to do those crazy stunts, Callie would never know.

Playing her grandmother like a fiddle, Jules went on animatedly discussing the pros and cons of lace and whether or not she'd wear a bow in her hair. She refused pink, despite her Grandma's earnest protesting, talked her way out of shoes with a buckle, and somehow managed a meal out of her too.

"Alright, Juliet. Let's make a deal." Barbara lowered Jules to the floor, bending down to kneel in front of her and buttoned up her coat. "_If _you agree to the shiny black shoes, I'll take you and your mother out to lunch wherever you want."

"No deal, Michele. I can just eat the grapes in the fridgerator later if I get too hungry. No black and no shiny."

"You know Michele is my middle name, right?" She laughed, pushing herself off of the floor and reaching into the coat closet for her own peacoat.

"Oh, I know. Your first name is Grandma. But my Mama says they named me after you because you woulda killed them if they didn't, so. Now, _Michele_, may I get a stuffed bunny at the store too? I want to name him Hopper. But not like a jumping bunny outside, like the grasshopper in _A Bugs Life_. Because bugs are cool. I like to learn about them in my movies, they're my favorite."

"I thought marine mammals were your favorite, and besides, why not just get a grasshopper stuffed animal, silly?"

"Because! Grasshoppers aren't very Easter like, and plus, we've gotta put at least _something _I like in my Easter basket."

"You are something else, child. Okay," she sighed, placing her palms on her hips and raising her eyebrows at Callie. "Ready to go?"

Callie looked from her mother-in-law to the back door and back again with a pout. "Are you sure you're taking the right daughter? I mean, I know Arizona would just _love _to go with the two of you..."

"Oh, she absolutely would!" She chirped, grinning as she ushered Juliet through the front door, leaving it wide open for Callie to follow. "And that's why she's working. Outside. With her father."

"Yeah, love you too." Callie mumbled under her breath. She had a feeling today would _not _be a fun day for either of them.

**  
As Callie, Barbara, and Jules made their way out and about, another member of their family of three was outside, standing in dirt, holding a hammer she had no idea what the hell she was supposed to do with.

"Dad. Were you serious when you asked me to help you? Or was this a joke? Because...really?"

She gazed at him, dumbfounded, as he relentlessly drove a nail deeper into one of the support beams for the terrace, her own hammer hanging lifelessly at her side. He turned briefly from his work.

"Well, I _was _serious...and then I realized you weren't kidding when you said you'd rather eat the nails than help me build with them."

"I tried to tell you that, but..." she began, shaking her head.

"...I just didn't listen." He agreed, clapping the dirt and dust from his hands before dropping the hammer into his tool belt and motioning for her to sit.

In the dirt.

She cautiously settled onto the ground next to him, folding her legs and holding them to her chest. "Ugh. There's a reason that I'm a doctor, you know. Sterile. And clean. It's like, rule number one."

"Oh, please. You can't just suck it up for one afternoon to hang out with your father? It's not like we ever get to see you anymore..."

Arizona crinkled her nose, shoving him playfully. "The guilt trip? It's not attractive, Dad."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? My little girl has a little girl and _neither _of you want to see me. I mean, I'm practically an old man now, I don't want to croak and not have seen you in eighteen years."

"Dad," she mumbled uncomfortably, digging the heel of her shoe into the dirt. "It hasn't been _that _long. You and Mom were in Seattle at the end of last year."

"When you have a grandchild time quadruples in increments of two, didn't you hear?"

"I might have." She smiled, resting her head on her father's shoulder to avoid the breeze that blew her hair into her face. "Parenting feels the same way."

"I know. It's still surreal that you're a mom. Especially since I remember us playing catch right there when you were four. That had to be, what, two years ago?"

Arizona rolled her eyes, but smirked. For a Colonel, he was _so_silly sometimes.

"So, _why _did you think it would be a good idea to ask for my help? I mean, have you met Callie? She works with power tools for a living..."

"Look, we've always been honest with each other. Told it like it is. So, I think you should know," He sighed, taking in a deep breath before allowing the rest of his words to rush out in the exhale. "Your mother orchestrated this whole thing. She said it was punishment for never visiting. Make Callie dress shop with her, make you build with me."

Arizona gasped in shock, her father simply shrugging his shoulders helplessly at the incredulous look she gave him. "You mean I'm sitting in a pile of dirt right now, when I _could _be shopping ? I mean, I'm not one to obsess about it, but anything is better than tools. And mud. And splinters."

"Like I said, punishment."

"It's not like Callie and I moved to Washington for the sole purpose of depriving you of your grandchild, you know. I made an important career move. The girlfriend and kid just sort of...happened."

"Tell that to your mother. All I hear about it is that you're too busy to come see us and Juliet is growing up so fast and we're missing it..."

"We _are_ too busy," Arizona admitted, because it wasn't untrue. "It's certainly not that we don't want to. But that's all a part of...being a grown-up."  
She smiled, shaking her head with a small laugh. Now that they spent so much time together, she sometimes forgot that she wasn't talking to Juliet. "It's part of being an adult. We move away, we work hard, and we have families. It's not because you mean any less."

"I think part of her thinks that staying away so much is going to be harmful to Juliet. You know how strict she was on you, of course, she had to be because she was alone for most of it, but Juliet isn't you. That little girl of yours is going to grow up and be someone we're all incredibly proud of. You and Callie are doing a great job, but I just think your mother doesn't understand. Especially because, and I love her more than anything, but if things aren't being done her way..."

"Then they aren't being done correctly. I know. It's just..." She paused, chewing on the bottom corner of her lip as her eyes narrowed, deciding exactly how she felt. " It's _so _terrifying to me that she thinks we're doing this wrong. Especially because what parent knows what they're doing? I mean, I never wanted kids, ever, for that very reason. You know I like knowing things before they happen, but if there's one thing I've learned about having Juliet, you won't know until you try with her. I tried being strict and keeping her on a tight leash, but she gravitated towards Callie, who was more free and patient and willing to try things out with her. Spending so much more time with her now made me realize that structure may work and be necessary, but it's just as important to almost let her...parent me. She'll tell me what she needs by how she reacts to things and how she interacts with people. And with her being _so_observant, it's much better to show her by example than to tell her this is right and that is wrong."

"And I think that's where you and your mother differ, she never let you teach yourselves. And that's how I knew as soon as I met Callie that she was special. Because she made you laugh and goofed around with you and made you feel around and grow into your relationship; she allowed you to breathe for the first time, took you out of your comfort zone. She wasn't me and she wasn't your mother, she was exactly what you needed to move to the next chapter of your life."

"You're right. Callie made everything...whole for me. And that's why Juliet is this whole, amazing little person. We just...need to make mom understand that like we do."

"She was a great mom to you guys. A great everything considering all she's been through with your brother. But, this is her first grandchild, and I think you have to learn your way around them, just like you do your first kid. She just...doesn't know what to do with her. Parent her or just observe, offer her opinions or stay out of it. And for someone like your mom, that has to be terrifying. I see her letting loose a little bit, just talk to her."

Several moments of comfortable silence passed, in which Arizona pondered just what she could possibly say to her mother to make things better, before her dad silently rose and extended his arm to her to help her up with a quirked eyebrow and a reassuring smile. It was time to get back to work.

On the other side of town, Callie and Jules were waiting...patiently, by the dressing rooms while Barbara picked out dresses for Jules and brought them to her. They "agreed" in the car that the best and most efficient way to get in and out in under two hours was to divide and conquer.

Jules was pissed, of course, proclaiming adamantly that it wasn't fair because "Michele" would "pick out things that were ugly and frilly and if _she_ wasn't allowed to pick what she was going to wear, _she_ would refuse to cooperate." Barbara looked to Callie with disbelief at her lack of concern for the fact that her daughter had just _threatened _to misbehave.

Callie shrugged and shot Jules a glare in the rear view mirror. She figured Barbara would have to learn for herself what it's like to have the smartest five year old in the world. You work around her reasoning and you give her options, not demands. But she'd figure it out eventually.

Four hours, nineteen dresses, four pair of shoes, and a mini business suit later, Callie was_so_ ready to get the hell out of there. It was bad enough that she had to go shopping. And twice as bad that she had to go shopping with her _daughter_ who hated it just as much, if not more, than she did. She'd caught onto Barbara's little scheme a while ago, after she'd muttered under her breath about never meddling again. Callie hoped Arizona was hanging in there with her father. While she was never _afraid_ of or _against _getting dirty if it was absolutely necessary, doing it just for kicks wasn't her idea of fun.

"Jules! Would you _stop _swinging from the clothes racks? This isn't a playground and those aren't monkey bars! What's gotten into you?"

"I told you I didn't wanna come. And I'm bored. I don't want to try on ugly dresses anymore. And I told _Michele _that if I didn't pick out my own clothes, I wasn't going to wear something I hated. I don't put up with that, and you know it."

"Okay, kid. Seriously, you need to cut out the Michele crap. You calling her that is cute when you're being loving, but when you're mad at her, it's like calling your mother Arizona. And I don't think I need to remind you of what happened the last and _only _time you called your mother by her first name, do I?"

Jules dropped from the rack, sat next to her mother quietly, and looked up at her with apologetic eyes, gulping a little at the stern look she was receiving. Callie was certainly the more fun of the two of her mothers, and she got away with a lot more when she was with her, but as soon as Callie stern eyed Jules, she knew she meant business and she instantly shaped up.

"No, ma'am. I'll only call her Michele when I'm being sweet and cute."

"Good, thank you. I know you don't get to see them that often, but they do love you a lot. Even if," Callie leaned over and whispered in the girl's ear, "they don't always know how to show it the right way. But they'll learn, you just have to be patient and respectful. They're still your elders and never forget that we always..."

Jules cut in without missing a beat, puffing her chest out slightly with a proud smile. "We respect our elders because they have a lot more life stuff they can teach us. We hold doors open for them, and help them if they drop things. Not because they can't do it themselves, but because it's a nice guess-ture to show them that we appreciate their wisdom. Right?"

God, that kid was good at memorizing every word her mothers told her.

"Exactly. So, when your Grandma comes back, you try on what she brings you, keep your facial expressions in check, and if you absolutely can't stand it, you politely ask if she can find you something that fits what you're willing to wear. But do it nicely, okay? You don't need to misbehave in order to get your way. You just have to learn how to work around difficult people so that they _think _they're the ones helping you. Don't tell your Mama I told you that."

"Gotcha, mom. Good talk."

Callie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Yes, good talk."

Five minutes later, Barbara bounced lightly down the aisle, a handful of dresses lain over the tops of her arms and two boxes of shoes under her chin. Callie and Jules both averted their eyes from her approaching form, back to one another and sighed in unison. Callie prayed for patience. And for Jules to find a fucking dress so they could leave already.

"Ooookay!" She called from behind the pile of merchandise in her arms before tossing the items onto a table across from them. "I can't believe the luck we've had today! There are_so_many beautiful dresses, I don't know how we'll be able to just choose!"

Jules grimaced. "I can't believe it either..."

She yelped as Callie's foot connected with the back of her shin, quickly masking the glare she shot at her mother with a huge grin at her Grandma's expectant look. She reluctantly pushed herself off of her chair, shuffling her feet all the way to the dressing room, pulling the dress roughly from Barbara's outstretched arms on her way in.

Grumbling and grunting as she tried to put the big, stupid thing over her head, she ended up falling on her butt when one of her arms got stuck and she spun around, running head first into the dressing mirror.

"I don't like this one, Grandma," Jules pouted and huffed, "it poofs out at the bottom like Alice in Wonderland's dress without the white thing. But..." She looked at her mom, who nodded with big eyes, urging her to remember what she'd told her, "I like the pretty light green color. May I come with you to find one like this that isn't frilly or poofy? I'd wear that, I promise."

Callie leaned back in her chair with a smirk and nodded her head approvingly.

'Atta girl.

"Of _course_you may. I'm sure we can find something that's just as pretty and sweet as you are."

Jules grabbed her Grandma's hand and winked at Callie as they passed her, giving a soft kick to Callie's shin, letting her know that she was gonna pay for that later.

Callie laughed and rubbed her her leg. Pulling out her cell, she slid the lock screen away and typed a quick text to Arizona while she waited.

_"So. Your mom is punishing us for not visiting enough, if you haven't figured that out by now. How's the building going, babe? Having fun?"_

_"Yeah, Dad clued me in an hour ago. Terrace is built (I helped), we're drinking beer on the deck waiting for you to get home. He's grilling, I'm relaxing, all is well with the world."_

_"I'm jealous. I need some hard liquor after today. Your daughter informed your mother that if she wasn't allowed to pick out what she wanted to wear, she wasn't going to cooperate. You should have seen the look on Barb's face. It was priceless."_

_"She didn't. Oh my God. Think she's figured out by now that you don't demand anything of that kid, you just roll with the punches and give her options that fit into what you want her to do so she thinks she has a choice, but really doesn't?"_

_"Nope, still bringing her tons of dresses that she hates and insisting that she try and buy each one. But I had a talk with her about respect because you know her lack of filter..."_

_"Yeah, we need to work on that. My mother will learn her lesson eventually. Any glimmer of hope that you'll be done soon?"_

_"I think so, I had a talk with her about compromise because we're both bored and SO over this little trip. Luckily, after today, I'm pretty sure your mother will never want to shop with Jules ever again. Hopefully not with me either."_

_"Not a problem, I will gladly turn in my hammer and nails for her credit card any day. Next time, we catch onto her plans and switch. Deal?"_

_"Absolutely. Oh, they're coming, Jules has her 'required' stuffed animal so we might be ready to leave, I better get going. Love you."_

As Arizona's phone buzzed for the fifth time, her father closed the hood of the grill and leaned against the wooden railing of the deck, smirking at the sly grin plastered across her face. She laughed, slid her sunglasses down to the bridge of her nose from their perch atop her head, and dropped her phone back onto the table next to the her. He gestured vaguely in the direction of her cell phone, swigging back a long sip of the ice cold beer in his other hand.

"I'm just going to assume those are not work-related messages?

She laughed, shaking her head at the mental image of Juliet wrestling with any dress her mother would be likely choose for her.

"Nope," Arizona grinned, "Callie. Apparently, I got the better end of the deal after all. Juliet is just about ready to kill your wife."

He threw his head back and laughed heartily, Arizona joining in as they both drowned the last of their respective beverages.

"Honestly, when _don't_ most people want to kill her when they go out of the house with her? I'm surprised the kid has lasted _this _long. Callie too.."

"Yeah, I know." Arizona sighed. "I just hope they all make it home in one piece."

She swung her legs over the side of her chair and crossed the deck in a few strides, retrieving two more bottles from the outside refrigerator and tossing one to her father.

"Juliet is quite the handful, isn't she?"

"That is..." She paused, carefully choosing her next words, "the understatement of the century."

"She doesn't seem like she's _that _high-strung. She's well mannered and respectful and smart, at least."

"Oh no, you're right, she's definitely..._all _of those things. She just...knows how to calculate her every move and is not afraid to use that to her advantage. She's...a mess." She said it fondly, suddenly feeling a strong, aching need to be near her little girl.

"A mess? Go on."

"She firmly believes that, when she wants to be, she's an alley cat. She taught herself how to read a full year before anyone in her class at school. Um...she can't find any of her things, _ever_, and she likes to walk around the hospital referring to herself as "Dr. Robbins" and answering the nurses who are looking for me."

"If I remember correctly, that's exactly what you used to do around my soldiers when you were little. Always talking about how you'd tell your daddy that they weren't standing up straight or they weren't running in unison. I see _so_much of you in that little girl, Arizona."

"You know, a lot of people say that," Arizona commented, circling the top of the glass bottle lightly with her index finger. "I guess they're right."

He nodded slowly, running a hand over his thinning blonde hair. "So, before your mother comes home, let's go back to this whole, visiting more often thing. Are we going to see her again before her high school graduation?"

She sighed and stood, slowly crossing the few feet to stand next to him, leaning back and resting her elbows behind her on the railing of the deck. "How often do you expect for us to visit you, realistically? You know, considering we're two surgeons raising a tiny ball of energy?"

"Enough to get your mother off my back? We both know I wasn't exactly...around a lot when you kids were growing up. I think she's always felt like I kept myself away on purpose, you know? That I was choosing my career over my family. And I think she feels like you're doing the same with her grandchild. Choosing your careers over giving Juliet an extended family. Rational or not."

"I'll make sure she knows." Arizona nodded, and felt the understanding pass between the two of them. She wrapped her arms around her father in a sideways hug, her head resting on his shoulder. She inhaled deeply, savoring the comforting scent of his cologne and cigars and soap that just smelled like _dad_.

"Thanks for the talk, Pop."

"Always, baby girl. Now, what do you say to one more round before the Mrs.' get home and ruin the fun, eh?"

"I would never say no to another beer with my old man. You're the one that taught me how to drink in the first place," she laughed as she walked to the refrigerator and passed another beer to her father, "but, we should probably keep that one between you and me."

Chuckling heartily, the two clinked bottles and continued their visit, taking advantage of the time they were given to hang out like old times.

**  
Twenty minutes later, the door to the garage flew open, and in came a stomping, pouting, excessively pissed off Juliet Robbins. She stomped dramatically all throughout the house, looking in every room and grumbling under her breath when she couldn't find anyone to commiserate with. It took her about a full minute to realize where everyone was and sprinted to the sliding glass door, put both hands on the window and stuck her mouth on it, blowing out and making fish faces.

Yep. That was her daughter alright.

She opened the door and skipped over to her Mama, motioning with her finger for Arizona to kneel down so she could speak quietly with her.

"Mama, I just want you to know, _your_ mom is _crazy_! I can't believe you made me go shopping _all_ day with her. You owe me _big _time!"

"Hey, I didn't _make _you do anything," Arizona defended herself, poking Juliet lightly in the stomach. "But what exactly do you think I "owe" you?"

"I don't even know! Mom said she needed a stiff drink and and a lot of rough, dirty, loud...I don't know, I didn't catch the rest but it sounds kind of fun. She was whispering it to Uncle Mark on the phone. I'd probably need _all_ of those things. It was just _so _awful, Mama!"

"Oh my god." Arizona inhaled swiftly, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay, you don't need _any _of those things. For several decades. So, how about you go inside and get something to drink, and then you sit out here with me and tell me everything."

"Mama, is apple juice stiff? Maybe I'll get some of that and pour mom a glass too. She looked like she could use one."

"Yes," Arizona nodded, hiding a smile behind the back of her hand. "Pour your mom a glass of apple juice and tell her it's the "stiff drink" she needs. Then tell me what she says."

"Okay!"

As Juliet disappeared into the kitchen, Arizona could hear Callie and her mother come into the house. They were actually being pretty civil, so she wondered what was really going on to put Juliet on the edge.

A few moments later, Juliet appeared holding her mom's hand, both carrying a glass of apple juice.

"I take it this was your idea of a joke?"

"No no, I can't take credit for this fine idea at all. It all goes to your kid."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Callie scoffed, as she looked down at her daughter, shaking her head. "Why don't you go and run around in the back yard with the dogs? You're the one who said you were _so_bored earlier. Go run off some of that energy."

Jules rolled her eyes, turning to Arizona with an annoyed look. "But Mama said she would sit outside and talk with me. Right, Mama?"

"I did say that..." Arizona agreed, smiling at Callie guiltily.

"We'll be here for a week, Jules, go out and play. We've been cooped up in that stupid store all day, it'll make you feel better."

Juliet shrugged, shoving her half-empty glass into Arizona's hand before huffing indignantly and stomping down the steps into the back yard. Arizona watched her go, amused, and then jumped pleasantly at the thrillingly familiar feeling of Callie's arms wrapping around her waist.

"You wouldn't be interested in going up to our room so that I can tell you about the kind of day I've had, would you?"

Arizona drew in a breath sharply as she felt Callie's breath on her neck. "I thought you'd never ask."

"I mean, seriously. How many times can that woman question my parenting skills in one afternoon? Every time Jules was with me, she was fine. It's when she was with _your _mother that she misbehaved, because we both know if Barb isn't getting what she wants, she throws her little passive aggressive fits. And Jules does _not _put up with it and I become the terrible parent. I love the woman, I really do, and we were best friends before Jules, but now that she's here? I'll kill her."

'I'm so sorry," Arizona murmured quietly, running her fingers lightly up and down Callie's side as they lay facing each other on the bed. "I know she can be...difficult, and I know Juliet can be enough of a pain on her own. I wish I could have been there to help you out."

"You know, I can't count the number of times she dropped hints about if we'd only come visit more, and if they'd only get to spend more time with Jules, then she wouldn't be acting out in this or that manner. How she wouldn't speak to an adult that way or would be thankful for the fact her grandmother was willing to by her such nice and beautiful things. I just...what happened to the woman who took me in and treated me like her own when my mother disowned me?"

"Oh, she's there. She's just buried under a pile of passive aggressive crap that has nothing to do with you. I'm going to talk to her and find out what's really going on."

Arizona wasn't thrilled with the idea of making that conversation happen, but she couldn't spend the rest of the week constantly doing damage control among the three most important women in her life.

"No, but seriously, we've never denied her a visit. She _never _invites us, and when we invite her she makes us feel like the bad guys because she's just too busy these days. I don't get it."

"Calliope, I'm telling you, it's _not _your fault," she insisted, placing a firm, loving kiss on Callie's lips just long enough to make her body relax and her breath catch in her throat. "Now. Do you want to vent about my mother, or do you want to cash in on what I...owe you? Juliet heard you say you could really use some 'rough, dirty, loud...something.' Thankfully she didn't hear the rest."

"How in the hell did she hear that? She was on the other side of the store!"

"I don't know! That child _definitely_ has selective hearing. If I ask her to clean her room, she "doesn't hear me" five times. But if I _whisper _to you from another room about something she finds interesting, she's on top of us in three seconds flat."

"Could be why we always get caught _right _before it gets good on the nights that I'm off. Little jerk."

"Perfect little jerk," Arizona agreed fondly.

"Or maybe," Callie propositioned, rolling on top of her and pinning her wrists to the pillows above her head, bringing Arizona's lips within mere centimeters of her own. "It's because you are incapable of keeping your mouth closed, _ever_, before things get good. So, maybe that's on you..."

"I have _never _known you to complain about my mouth before." Arizona argued, her voice dropping by several octaves.

"I'm not complaining in the least. Just merely stating a fact. I'm surprised your daughter doesn't know all the words you mutter in French while you're naked and..."

"Ugh," Arizona shuddered, burying her face in Callie's shoulder, "I sincerely hope she _never _knows those words."

"I swear, if she starts singing them as a song as she hops down the stairs one day..."

"I would just..." Arizona shook her head, a look of complete horror on her face. "I would never speak again. No words. Ever. Again."

"Woah, woah hey. Let's not get drastic. Maybe we should just invest in a soundproof door. Or, hey, here's an idea, one with a _lock_?"

"Yeah, yeah," Arizona smiled, kissing Callie on the cheek sweetly. "We'll look into it."

"We were idiots for coming up with that 'no lock' rule when we first started to understand the extent of her nightmares. Why do we have to be such awesome parents?"

"Because we just...are. And also, to give my mother one less thing to complain about."

"Fat chance. She told me that Jules' nails were too short. And that it'll give her body issues wearing nail polish at five. But seriously, body issues because her nails are too short and painted?"

"There are just some things that she says that we will never, ever understand. I just kinda...roll with the punches on that one."

"I miss the old her. I really do. Do you remember our first dinner together as a family?"

"Oh, God," Arizona laughed, her head falling back onto the pillow with Callie's as she settled into the mattress, lying side by side. "I don't think any of us could ever forget. As much as she might want us to."

"I just remember not knowing whether or not I was allowed to laugh. Like, they'd just accepted us as a couple and then _wham_, and inside I was ready to just...die. Right there at the table."

Arizona grinned, lacing her fingers through Callie's tightly. "I _still_ can't believe she said that. And she didn't even mean it the way _everyone _thought she did."

"Right? I mean, imagine my shock. Who would have thought a Colonel's wife would so blatantly make a statement like that, the first real time she got to meet her daughter's girlfriend? I just...couldn't believe it. I remember staring a hole in your head wondering if I'd even heard right. Then you busted out laughing and just... oh my God."

Even just the memory of it had Arizona laughing so hard her sides ached. "And she said it like it was the most logical thing for a mother to say to her daughter."

"_'But you don't like penis. _Just like that. No sarcasm. Not a hint of teasing. It was like she was asking someone if they preferred paper or plastic."

Arizona wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, rolling onto her side and bending her leg to rest it across Callie's hips possessively.

"Then," Callie continued, hiccuping as she tried to catch her breath from laughing so hard, "then she looks at the three of us _dying _and catches what she did and back peddled about you hating the word penis when you were little and turned red and cracked up herself. It was the most perfect thing I've ever been part of."

"But you don't like penis." Arizona repeated, shaking her head in disbelief. "She will _never _live that down."

"Nope. Ugh. I love you so much."

Just outside their door, peeking under the bottom of it through the space between it and the floor, Juliet listened to her mothers laugh and enjoy each other's company. With the stressful day they'd had she knew that they both needed to have that special grown-up time together. But before too long, she became impatient and wanted to know what was_so_funny.

Shuffling to her feet, she stood and _threw _the door open, making it slam against the inside wall with a loud bang. She immediately brought her hands to her mouth in a little giggle. "Oopsies..."

Both women jumped a mile high at the loud intrusion, throwing themselves apart like they'd been caught robbing a bank. To say they'd had experience with this exact situation would be an understatement.

"Oh, _please_," Juliet rolled her eyes, striding over to the bed and hopping up onto it, scrambling towards them and settling directly in the middle. "You don't have to do that every time. You're _always _squished together when I come in."

Callie kicked Arizona with her foot and mouthed the word "lock" in her direction. "Jules, didn't we tell you that you should always knock on our door when it's closed? Don't think we couldn't hear your little giggles from under the door crack again."

"Buuuut mom! I just love it when you guys laugh _so_much I can't help it and I have to laugh with you. Even if it gives away my secret hiding place under the door."

"Baby, there's nothing secret about that hiding place," Arizona commented, earning an indignant glare from the little one.

"Can we talk about how much your Mama really makes long days even longer? Like how when you stare at it, microwave minutes take longer than normal ones? It was like the clocks were playing an evil game with our minds, Mama!"

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Arizona replied, brushing Juliet's hair away from her eyes. "But what made you have such a bad day?"

"She was just so, so..." she stared up at the ceiling with her tongue stuck out to the side contemplating the right word, "what's that word that the doctors always say at the hospital that starts with a c? I can't remember."

"Uh..." Arizona thought, looking over Juliet's head at Callie, completely at a loss as to what the hell their daughter was talking about.

Callie nodded and chuckled. "You mean when a patient is critical, sweetie?"

"Ah-ha! Yes!" Jules said as she pointed her finger and thrust it into the air in triumph. "She was just so _critical _about everything! She even said that I wasn't wearing good enough shoes because my big toe was smaller than my next-to-it-toe! Why was she being so mean today?"

"I think she was just feeling a little cranky today," Arizona explained, "It's not your fault, and you shouldn't stay mad at her. Everyone feels cranky sometimes. Even grandmothers."

"Must be one of those days, then, because wow-ee, was she grumpy. But not in a grumbly kind of way, but in that way that people try and be grumpy but with a smile and soft words? That kind is stupid. What's it called, mom? You were telling Uncle Mark about it."

Arizona shot Callie a glare, to which she simply shrugged. "It's called being passive aggressive, Jules. But that's not something little kids like you should be saying to adults because it makes them grumpy in the grumbly way. But, yes, your Grandma was being very passive aggressive today. But we can't stay upset with her, okay? She's your Grandma and she bought you a pretty dress and we love her, right?"

"Oh, I love her, alright," Jules mumbled, "I just didn't love spending a whole extra long day with her trying on a thousand and five dresses I hated."

"Hey now, little lady," Arizona admonished, fixing Juliet with a stern glare. "Your Grandma has been waiting a long time to spend a whole day with you, and she even bought you a beautiful dress _and _a new stuffed animal that we all know you don't really need. So, I think maybe it's time to check that attitude and make some apologies, Juliet."

"But. I was perfect all day. It was her that had the issues."

"Juliet," Arizona repeated, a little more loudly. "That's enough."

"Fine." She pouted, starting to feel just a little bit sad. She didn't like it when she made Arizona's voice get louder and a lot less happy. "Anyway, Grandma wants you to come downstairs, Mama. She said 'Callie and you are to stay in your room until your mother comes up and gets you.' I didn't think she was allowed to punish my mom like that."

"No," Arizona sighed, pulling a pillow over her head and crushing it into her face. "Moms can definitely be punished too."

"Well, then what's the big deal about growing up? If you can still be punished and be old like you two, that's no fun. I don't ever wanna grow up if I'm going to get in trouble for as long as I'm old too!"

Arizona peeked with one eye from under her pillow from Juliet's incessant grumbling under her breath to Callie's closed eyes, her fingertips massaging circles into her forehead. She could only imagine the headaches upon headaches Callie had suffered through, and made a mental note to _really _take care of her later.

"Okay," Arizona threw the pillow onto the floor and forced herself to leave the bed, gazing back down at her two favorite girls. "I'll go talk to Grandma, and you don't cause your mom any more trouble. Be _sweet_."

"But. I'm always sweet, Mama. Have you met me?"

Arizona folded her arms over her chest, rolling her shoulders back and tilting her head as she gazed down at her daughter. "I'd like to think so, but from what I can tell, you haven't been even a little bit sweet today, and I have to say I am disappointed. So, why don't you think about that now?"

Juliet looked down, exhaling sadly, and asked in a small voice, "Can I watch a Disney movie while I think about it?"

"That's up to your mom."

Juliet shoved Callie's shoulder lightly. "Mom? Pretty please?"

Callie groaned, but didn't even open her eyes. "Fine, go put one in, but you have to promise not to yell or sing loudly or jump on the bed. You have to lie quietly here with me until your Mama comes back to get us, understood?"

Jules could hear how tired her mom was, and she didn't want to make that any worse.

"I won't, Mom," she whispered, sliding off of the edge of the bed and onto the floor to choose a movie. "I promise."

Arizona kissed Callie on the temple, walking to the door and looking back once more, praying for a little bit of strength from her girls. Knowing her mother, she would definitely need it. Closing the door behind her, she stopped with her hand on the knob, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

It was now or never.

Stopping to sit at the top of the stairs and collect her thoughts, Arizona thought about how she was going to have this conversation with her mom. She knew she had to stand up for her daughter and girlfriend, but she also didn't know how to do it without upsetting her mom. Clearly, there was something greater going on than just "not visiting enough," and that worried her. Arizona did well with planned speeches and unexpected complications during surgery. But when it came to her parents, uncertainty made her anxious. So much so she felt like she would rather run for twenty miles, on one foot, in her underwear, than actually have this conversation.

Taking one last deep breath, she stood and slowly descended the stairs as if she were entering a grand ball, making every single one count as to prolong the inevitable of what was about to unfold.

With one hand brushing lightly along the walls of each hallway as she traced familiar paths through her childhood home, she slowly searched for her mother on the first floor of the house. The only direction Juliet had given her was "downstairs," so that really didn't help her. If Arizona knew her mother as well as she thought she did, she would more than likely find her curled up on the couch under a quilt, flipping through reruns of old sitcoms. Arizona smiled happily despite her mounting discomfort at the memory of watching television with her mother as a child, wrapping herself in that quilt with her and snuggling into her side.

As she rounded the corner into the cozy family room, her eyes met the sight she had wholly expected to see: Barbara Robbins, completely covered by a blanket with just the TV remote poking out from the side of the couch.

Smiling softly, fondly remembering some of the best moments of her childhood, Arizona walked over, pulled up the blanket, and sat down on the opposite end of the couch.

"What's on TV, Mama?"

"The Cosby Show. It's our favorite one."

Arizona grinned. "I love this episode."

"Do you know why I asked you to come talk to me?"

Arizona tore her eyes away from the screen sharply; she hadn't expected such a quick segue into what she figured to be a relatively serious conversation. "Not entirely, no. I assume it has something to do with my girlfriend's migraine and my child's intensified stubbornness? What _happened _with the three of you today?"

"Arizona..." Her mother began quietly, pausing the live TV and turning to face her, swinging her legs up onto the couch, extended and parallel to Arizona's. "I'm just not sure if I...like what I see sometimes, as far as Juliet's behavior."

"Okay..." Arizona processed this; it was not something that totally blindsided her, but she still wasn't entirely sure of the best method of approach. "What do you mean?"

Barbara leaned her head to the side, resting it on the back of the couch and giving Arizona a soft smile. "You _know_ I love her. And you. And Callie. So, _so_ much. I just wonder if...you know, you are my daughter. I taught you things. Showed you things. Raised you a certain way, and you grew into the _incredible _woman you are now. I just feel that, because of what we taught you growing up, a lot of more of that should be coming through in her."

"Well, the fact is that she's both of us," Arizona replied calmly. "We're different parents and we're a different couple, and...just because I gave birth to her, doesn't mean that she's going to be just like me."

"Please don't quote your sapphic parenting manifesto, dear. I'm a parent too, I know that she's both of you, but..." She said, as she shook her head and chuckled condescendingly.

Arizona loved her mother, she really did, but sometimes, her vague criticisms and half-hearted arguments made her want to just...hit her.

"I know it's going to be difficult for you to understand this, Mom," Arizona defended, "but this is completely different because _my_ child isn't a military brat. She doesn't thrive under the strict order of that system and neither does Callie. I've had to bend my ways to make things work with Cal, and I've had to bend and mold my parenting to fit _Juliet_. We have to change our parenting almost every single day for her. We have to be fluid and understanding and patient. Not because there's anything wrong with her, but because she's exceptionally gifted for her age. Just because I was raised differently than we're raising her, doesn't mean we're not doing it correctly. Because your way of parenting me growing up would never work for Juliet because we _know _her."

"Arizona, I think you're getting a little carried away..."

"But it's not up to you to decide what we teach her or if it'll be the same as _you_ taught _me_. And just because she's biologically your granddaughter, doesn't give you the right to question either of our parenting skills."

"I'm not questioning you," Barbara insisted, feeling as though she was becoming more and more lost as this conversation continued. "I'm just concerned that with your busy schedules, maybe she's not in the best possible place she could be. Maybe she's in the wrong school. I don't know. I really just...don't know what to do with her. You don't call us like you used to, and I just...have no idea what to do with her."

"I've been calling less because that little girl literally commands all of the attention we have, and now I'm spending _so_ much more time with her, and...I'm her mother. I appreciate every second I get to be with her, learning about her and loving her more than I ever thought I could. And, you know, _I_ didn't even know what do do with her until I listened and allowed Juliet to teach _me_. Not knowing and not controlling everything isn't as scary when you can watch her learn without even needing to tell her. The person she's becoming _on her own_ is so much more amazing than giving her a mold she needs to fit into. I won't make apologies for how we're raising her, because she's _perfect_."

"I wasn't criticizing you, Arizona. I know you're a good mother, I just see a lot of the personality similarities that were in yours and thought maybe this would be an opportunity to bond over mothering a," she looked to the ceiling with a slight smirk, "difficult, but brilliant child. I thought maybe you were having trouble and if you used some of the methods that we used on you, it might make yours and Callie's life a little easier. But maybe I'm just a senile lady who doesn't know anything about her grandchild, and also about her daughter anymore either. I was also going to offer for her to spend her summer down here this year to give you two a break, but maybe that's not such a good idea since we don't 'know' her."

Arizona closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If there was one thing she, and her daughter too after today, hated more than anything, it was her mother's passive aggressive 'help' that bordered along the lines of condescension and meddling. She knew she had to just placate her, tell her what she wanted to hear, and then this whole mess would be over with.

"Mom, that's not what I meant. I just...I'm trying my best and I question my parenting skills on my best days. I really didn't want to come here, to my favorite place in the entire world, and be scrutinized over how I _or_ Callie have raised her. I love you, but it's not your place to comment on that. Just love her, love us, and get to know her. I know that's difficult since we hardly ever see each other, but I promise we'll make an effort to change that, and if we can't, I'll make sure you talk to her at least once a day. I _want_ you to know my daughter because she's the most..._amazing _tiny human I've ever known. Just love her mom, love her for her. The rest will fall into place once our schedules sync up with each other."

Barbara took a moment to contemplate what her daughter had just said to her. It wasn't often that she _really _put her in her place, not unless she really meant what she was saying. As far as she was concerned, if she was brave enough to have the conversation with her, Barb would be willing to hear her out and trust her daughter's decision.

"Alright, darling. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page, is all. Now, why don't you go upstairs and take a nap. I'm sure you had a long, strenuous afternoon _building _with your father."

"Hey! I helped! No judging, Ms. I-got-to-go-shopping-instead-of-being-in-the-dirt-all-day."

"Me? I would never. Now scoot. All you people, with your weird need to nap all the time..."

"I'll see you at dinner Mama," she stood up, leaned over and threw herself onto her mom in a huge body bear hug, "I love you."

"Mhm, love you back."

As Arizona made her way upstairs, she counted her blessings. Knowing her mother, that could have gone _much _worse, and she was thankful, for all of their sakes, it went well.

Stopping at the door, hand on the knob, she smiled at the realization that wherever Callie and Juliet were was were where she belonged. Pushing the door open, she saw an exhausted looking girlfriend, passed out on the bed, her five year old daughter sitting on the floor watching _Cinderella_ and her father, clad in his blue jeans and polo shirt, sitting right next to her _coloring _and humming along to the songs.

"Hey, Pop, whatcha doing?'

Practically jumping a mile in the air he turned around, wide eyed, and fumbled over his words, immediately standing up, trying to press out the invisible wrinkles in his jeans.

"I-uh," he stuttered, completely avoiding eye contact, "I thought Callie could use a break and Juliet wanted to color so I was showing her the best techniques handed down from Robbins generation to generation."

"Suuure you were, Dad. Didn't look one bit like you weren't enjoying yourself or anything."

"I...I wasn't! I was just being a good Grandpa, is all."

Watching the whole thing unfold, Juliet looked up at her Grandpa and then looked to her Mama with a smirk.

"Papa, remember how you asked me if I could find you a Little Mermaid page just for you? Well, I found it! Color it with me?"

His head shot towards his Granddaughter, in a little pout, as he exhaled and sat down next to her.

Arizona smiled at the adorable bonding moment between her father and her daughter. He was _totally_ busted. And it was quite possibly the cutest thing she'd ever seen.


	7. Of Realizations & Ramifications

**A/N**: Quite a few people have told us that they were interested in the planning of Juliet, as well as more interaction between the couple themselves without her. We decided to write a preface of sorts, to showcase the pieces that fit together to make all of that happen.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Almost as soon as Callie Torres started dating Arizona Robbins, she knew she was the kind of woman you don't let slip through your fingers. When you can dance goofily around the room without a care in the world, laugh hysterically with such ease at even the most serious of conversations, and just talk for hours, about politics, medicine, pop culture, family life, history, literature, art, hopes and dreams...things that really matter, you don't let them go. The minute they kissed, really kissed, Callie knew she could spend the rest of her life tasting her. She just...knew. And although they had numerous bumps and bruises along the way, as the months flew by, Callie knew she needed that woman forever.

She was never the kind of girl who sought out a relationship. Sure she always desired one, but they had a way of just...falling into her lap. Her problem was never circumstance, her problem always became about needing more…needing better, and trying to match an ideal she'd created for herself from far too early of an age. She always longed for more, for moving things along; the next step, the next date, the next milestone. And when they didn't happen with George, she blamed herself, she blamed Izzie, and then she just flat out blamed him. It wasn't either of their faults per se, you see, Callie lacked vision in relationships. She lacked the clarity to see when things just weren't going to happen with someone she was with.

She also lacked the control to be single. It wasn't a flaw necessarily, she craved that ethereal connection, that indefinable pull to another human being. She'd witnessed it her whole life. Her grandparents, her parents, her colleagues, it seemed everyone had it but her. She fumbled around from relationship to relationship trying desperately to find it, and if it wasn't there, she clung to the possibility she could create it. Love them hard enough, skip steps quickly enough, desire to want it more, and maybe, just maybe, she'd find it. She tried with George, certainly, tried to force every step on him when he wasn't certain, and then when he succumbed, their relationship fell apart. Erica, Callie thought, was a new beginning, but when _she_tried to push a relationship on Callie, push steps Callie wasn't ready for, it ended in disaster. And Mark…well, he was just happenstance, a best friend willing to go above and beyond in order to pacify both their broken hearts. To say she wasn't good with relationships, even as hard as she tried and fought, was an understatement.

But Callie always pushed herself. As a child, if she couldn't conjure it up for herself, money could buy it. In school she studied harder, put in more hours to be the best. At work she freaking slept at the hospital to get ahead, she tried risky and innovative surgeries because she knew if she wanted it, she just had to push forward to get it. She never minded hard work, she never desired the easy way out, but when she hadn't found that connection with someone, regardless of the work she'd put in, she became listless, she sulked and pouted and gave up looking. Little did she know, that was just what she had needed to do...stop forcing the un-forcible.

With Arizona, things flowed naturally. Sure there was work, there were spats and hard times, but somehow, above all else that was thrown at them, Callie Torres had found what she'd always been searching for.

They'd made it through break-ups, through financial instability, through the loss of the only support system Callie had ever known; they'd pushed through, they skipped steps but were able to ground themselves enough to make it. Against all odds, Arizona Robbins was hers.

She rejoiced in that, savored that, she _loved_ that, but something was still...missing. It made her question a lot about who she was as a person. She had this wonderful girl, beautiful, ambitious, smart, _perfect_, but something was just off. She'd always assumed that if she found the right person, the rest would fall into place, that she would finally feel whole. But for some reason, she just...didn't.

For as long as Callie could remember, having a child had been in the back of her mind. It was something always in the far off future, of course, but it was still there. Get her career jump-started, find the right person, find stability, _create_stability, and then start a family. It just seemed like a natural progression. She loved kids, and not having one was never even a consideration, it was an absolute.

Perhaps it was the slew of infant cousins that came along with having a ridiculously large family, or maybe even having a baby sister late in the game at eleven; regardless, she'd always pictured her life with a child.

And then Arizona didn't want one. She'd never envisioned them in her future at all. She was so against the idea she ended the relationship. It left them both flailing, desperate for one another but hopelessly lost and confused about how to fix the problem. They wanted fundamentally different lives, even though they were undeniably made for each other. Ending it seemed like the logical conclusion. But when you try to place logic on illogical things like emotions and fate, you screw yourself over. You make yourself miserable and all you want to do is go back to a time when things were perfect. And so, reluctantly at first, they compromised. They chose a life together over a life apart; a life with a child over a life filled with longing, regret, and evidential resentment.

They'd put it off for four years, put themselves and their careers on the fast track. Deep down, Callie had been relieved at just...letting the relationship grow and strengthen. She'd been happy even, happier than she'd ever been in her entire life. And then she received a phone call one afternoon from her baby sister that changed everything.

She listened and was enthusiastic and inserted "aww"s and "oh my God"s and even a few excited gasps. She _was_ excited, admittedly. Aria was her little sister after all, and she _adored_her but...she was also exceptionally jealous. At twenty-two, Aria was pregnant. And at thirty-one, Callie didn't even have prospects of it.

After hanging up with her sister, issuing promises of a visit to meet her boyfriend and go baby shopping, Callie dropped her phone onto the table and stretched out along the couch. She rubbed her temples and tried her best to push it out of her mind. "Just be happy for her," she thought. "You have the absolute perfect woman in the world," she justified. "You don't need this right now just because Aria has it by accident," she concluded. But as hard as she tried to accept her best reasoning to push the baby issue aside, she just couldn't. She wanted one too, and it was time to bring it up...gently...with Arizona. A conversation she certainly was not looking forward to having.

* * *

Arizona had had a great day. One of those dimple-popping, Heely-wearing, "yay" kind of days. She rocked surgery after surgery, helped deliver six beautiful babies, and saw a long-term cancer patient head home after a three-year battle. She skipped her lunch break and helped around the NICU to hold the babies and try to make the parents visiting a little less on edge. It was one of those days that made her thankful she was a doctor. It was one of those days that made the magic of working in Peds come alive.

Holding a three month old little girl who could finally have visitors besides her parents while they went to retrieve her big brother to meet her for the first time, Arizona gazed down into her bright blue eyes, and rubbing her index finger over her peach fuzz blonde hair, she wondered, for the very first time, what _her_daughter would look like. Would she have blonde curls? Blue eyes? Maybe her mother's piercing green? Or would she inherit Arizona's brother's stiff-as-a-board sandy blonde hair? And then Callie flashed before her eyes. She'd always wanted a baby, it'd always been in her plans. For Arizona, it took a little convincing, but she finally saw the potential beauty in a family with Calliope Torres.

They'd put it off for a handful of years, talked flippantly about it from time to time, but never discussed anything concrete. It had honestly surprised Arizona, the time that had passed without any real progress in that department. She'd been ready for some time now, for that next step, but figured it was a subject that Callie should bring up. She didn't want to...steal her thunder since this had been something _so_important to her a while back. But if Arizona were being honest, she was ready. She wanted a baby. And she was going to tell her tonight.

She placed the infant in the incubator once more and tucked the blanket around her slumbering body. "Grow up and be somebody full of life, little one. Cherish everything, love everyone, be happy." she spoke softly. She ran her finger across the child's cheek and leaned over to press a little kiss to the tip of her nose and smiled.

Arizona left with a few waves to the families that were there and made her way to the locker room to change. She was definitely ready, and it added a little pep in her step at the prospect of moving forward in their lives together.

* * *

She arrived home half an hour early, quickly turning the doorknob and walking inside. She didn't pause to drop her stuff or check the lain-out mail in the bowl by the door. They could wait. She didn't get her regimented bottle of water or look for the folded clothes Callie would leave for her on the ironing board to bring upstairs upon her arrival. She paused, only for a brief moment at the bottom of the stairs before ascending, skipping a step or two as she went.

Arizona had spent every second since her internal self-discovery hashing out what to say to Callie. Most especially in the delivery and timing of it. She was excited enough just to blurt "I wanna have a baby," but if Callie wouldn't be receptive, she didn't know if she could take the risk of not being able to contain her disappointment. Being with Callie was always kind of a gamble with delivery. Catch her on an off day and you're met with loads of sarcasm or a slight dismissal altogether. She was more of a talker, not really a listener, so, Arizona had learned, you needed to just...get it out before she had time to get bored or start up on her own monologue.

It wasn't a bad thing, just something that Arizona had to get used to and learn to work around. She hoped that Callie would be in a good mood tonight and that she knew her well enough to gauge the appropriate time to have the conversation. Placing her hand upon the doorknob, Arizona closed her eyes and nodded to herself in silent encouragement as she pushed open the door and stepped inside their bedroom.

* * *

Callie had spent the better part of the afternoon pacing their bedroom floor. She knew she wanted a baby, but wasn't sure how to go about telling Arizona. The last time she tried, it ended with Arizona's face dropping and her pulling away completely. And later, a slammed door in her face and many weeks of awkward, avoidable discomfort. She knew this time would be different, that Arizona wouldn't walk out, but still, her head and her heart had locked in sync with one another and there was no turning back.

She usually prepped Arizona with an intro monologue so that she'd know she wasn't getting in trouble, and earlier on in their relationship, that Callie hadn't cheated on her with Mark. But this time she wasn't going to prep her at all. She'd risk the repercussions, because when it came to important things, Arizona hated people who weren't direct with her. She was a busy woman, she had tiny humans to save, so get to the point, she often told her residents. And Callie had always admired her for that, but when it came to conversations of such importance in their personal lives, she was often left unsure of how to breech the topic. She only hoped, as she heard the front door close, that she would survive the conversation long enough to continue respecting her for her take charge, direct approach.

* * *

Closing the door and shrugging her bags and coat off onto the bed, Arizona locked eyes with Callie and smiled. They made idle small talk, "How was your day," Arizona asked. "Save many lives today," Callie inquired. But they both knew that the other had something they needed to say. Arizona was excited about it, and Callie was dreading it, each wanting to be the first to speak before they lost their nerve.

Simultaneously, they both spoke..."We need to talk." and then froze momentarily, waiting to see if the other would go first. Arizona dropped her gaze to the bed as she heard Callie inhale deeply. It was now or never, she thought.

"I wanna have a baby."

Both taken aback by the others proclamation, and for the synchronized delivery, they looked at each other dumb founded before pointing with big huge grins at the other. "You do?" Callie sighed. It was going to be okay after all.

Nodding her head and walking over to Callie, Arizona sat down on the footstool of their white love seat, grabbing one of Callie's hands and squeezing it in relief. "It hit me today, actually. Pretty hard, right between the eyes. You know how that happens to me sometimes, like a big smack in the face when I've been going on the wrong course. I just...want one, right now. I really do."

Callie inhaled sharply at the decision that Arizona had come to on her own. It amazed her sometimes, even though they were absolutely different people, just how 'on the same page' they were inside. "Aria called me earlier and told me she's pregnant."

Arizona's eyes widened in shock, "Are you serious? She's only been dating that guy for like...four months. Did they plan that or..."

"She got knocked up." Callie said with a scoff, rolling her eyes. Her sister always was _so_reckless with her personal life.

Arizona shook her head and looked to the ceiling in disbelief. "Wow. And what about your parents? I mean, with how strongly Catholic they are..."

"Totally excited and supportive. If it had been me, it'd be the end of the world, but Aria getting knocked up is the best thing that's ever happened to them, apparently."

Arizona honed her gaze at Callie and cocked her head to the side. "Wait, this isn't one of those things where you want something just because your sister got it, is it? Because, I mean I know you've always wanted a baby, but if you're rushing into it now just because she got pregnant, maybe we should re-think our timeline? I don't know, I just don't want you to regret the birth of our kid because it won't be as special if Aria is having hers around the same time. We have to...deal with a lot more stuff in the process of getting pregnant than just getting knocked up. And what if it doesn't happen right away and you're devastated when Aria's baby is born and you don't have one...I just don't want you to hurt."

Callie looked at Arizona quizzically. None of those things had really crossed her mind except how much hearing about her niece or nephew made her want one of her own. But she was certain it had nothing to do with sibling rivalry. She was just...ready. And although Arizona's little tangent was sweet, she knew she needed to set the record straight or Arizona would never take her seriously. "You know, it really made me wonder what the hell we've been doing with our lives. I mean, I love our life together, more than anything, but we just kind of...stopped moving forward with things. And I was okay with that, really, but then I got that call and wondered what we'd been waiting for, y'know? But then," she shrugged and looked away. "With before and..."

"You were worried I'd freak out again and we'd be right back to where we were?" Admittedly, Arizona hadn't been proud of her previous behavior. She knew that she had been taught never to give up just because something might be hard or that plans might change without much warning. To always be prepared for the unexpected. But she'd just been on her set path for so long...too long...that she couldn't get past the inevitability of _such_a huge change that she thought was too out of her control. She'd always regret that, but...things had changed and she'd learned from it and was ready to make amends for it. She also didn't really blame Callie for being cautious about it. The last time she'd tried opening up to her about something this important, Arizona had run.

"I wasn't really sure. I wanted to believe that you had meant what you said before, and part of me was still a little worried. But I'd hoped...Arizona, are you really ready for this? It's not just a "let's go to the car place and buy a car" kind of thing. It's...a whole lifetime. A whole new life...we need a plan or we just...shouldn't even consider it right now."

Arizona shook her head furiously in disagreement. "I know it's not like buying a car, Calliope. And I've been thinking about this for a lot longer than I let on." It was true, she'd wanted one for a little over a year now, planned out every little detail in her head, hashed over all the possibilities of what could go wrong, she just...hadn't wanted to tell Callie she was interested because she knew she'd want a baby _right now_ and Arizona needed some more time with _just_Callie before they made that leap. "I didn't feel like, even a year ago when I decided I wanted one, that it was my right to bring it up because of how I reacted from the beginning. I knew I could wait, but that you couldn't, and when you were ready, you'd tell me."

"Of course you had the right to bring it up. It'll be your baby too. You'll have just as much hand in raising it as I do, I was...waiting for you, I guess. I mean, for the first time I was really _enjoying_ being in a relationship without worrying about hitting milestones. It felt good just to _live_a life with you. And I knew we would have a baby eventually, so I just...let it go. But that phone call...it brought all of that back with a vengeance."

"I delivered six babies today, tiny, but really healthy babies. And I had great surgeries, and even helped out in the NICU during my break. For some reason, today, I just...wanted to be around the babies. I was pulled to them. And then I was holding this beautiful little girl and it hit me out of nowhere..."

"But you play with babies all day every day, Arizona. This is different, it can't just be because they're cute and all of the sudden you want to be a parent. With your history of being against being a mother, it has to be more than that because..."

Arizona cut her off with a furrowed brow and a shake of her head. "I wondered what my daughter would look like, Callie. If she'd have my curls or my mother's bright green eyes, and I'd never thought about it like that. I'd always kind of chalked it up to what your baby would look like, how pretty she'd be or if she'd look...too different from me for people to think she was mine too. I'd never thought about her as really _mine_, and then when I did, your face popped into my head and I knew I wanted a baby with you, regardless of what she looked like or if people would think she was mine, she'd be ours no matter what and I liked that. I want one, Calliope, I want one with you, as soon as possible."

"Okay...but..." Callie tried to interrupt her again.

For someone who wanted a baby so badly, Callie was sure putting up a fight. "It's not something I decided on a whim, Callie. So just...stop with the questioning and be excited that we're both finally here together and we came to that conclusion on the same day. This isn't a bad thing, it's not going to lead into anything bad, it's good! We want a baby. We're going to have a baby." She concluded with a smile and a squeeze to Callie's hands.

The fact of the matter was, Arizona hadn't decided on a whim just because of what happened today. She'd stewed over motherhood for months. Did she really want it, what would her role be in the child's life be? Could she get over the loss of control that having a child could open up to with sicknesses and uncertainty? Were they prepared to give up their careers in order to have this child? There was just so much to worry about and so much to think about before she ever could have been ready to have that conversation. And so she took the time, she did the research, she prepared herself emotionally, she thought about houses and cars and puppies and all the things people probably do before they have a kid. She was as prepared as she could possibly be and she was done worrying.

But before she could undeniably say, "Okay, let's do this tomorrow," she had to talk to Callie. With her past constantly nagging at her, she had to tell Callie, she just...couldn't let that one tiny detail go. The one she'd tried to push aside since she looked into that little girl's eyes and she herself reflected back. But she just...couldn't. So, she took a deep breath, bit down a little on her lip, and told Callie the one thing that could change her mind about having a baby with her.

"Calliope, I want a baby with you. I'm ready, I'm so ready I would explode if I did any more research or thought about it anymore," She winced slightly, which Callie, unfortunately caught, making Arizona drop her gaze to their entwined fingers. "But before we jump head first into this, I have something to tell you that you might not like. And I'm scared you're going to change your mind because of it."

Arizona looked up just in time to see Callie's brow lift and a quiet sadness come over her eyes as her face dropped. She wasn't sure what Arizona could possibly tell her that would make her not want to have a baby with her. Especially not in the exact same sentence telling her she wanted a baby with her _right_ now. It just didn't make sense. But if she were honest with herself, she was terrified of what, given all they'd been through, it could possibly be.


	8. Of Silence & Surrender

**Chapter Five**

**Part Two**

Seeing Callie's defeated look, Arizona held back tears as she tried to figure out how to put her feelings into words that Callie would _hear_.

"Callie, listen. I know that..."

Anger instantly replaced defeat as Callie shot back, interrupting her. "No, _you_listen, Arizona. The last time this happened, you broke me. You said my lifelong dream was irrelevant because it didn't fit into your 'plan'. So, you know what? If this is another selfish cop out to avoid having a kid with me, I don't want to hear it. Grow up or get out of this relationship." Callie stood and pulled away from Arizona's grasp, furiously brushing past her girlfriend muttering incoherent Spanish, rushing instantly toward the door.

"God dammit! _Listen to me_!"

Callie stopped dead in her tracks before she turned the handle. If Arizona was reprimanding her like this, she knew she'd better listen, regardless of how pissed she was, even if it was just from afar.

"You always do that! You jump to conclusions and then you distance yourself and then completely pull away! You lost your money and tried to break up with me by being a bitch. Don't ignore me and avoid another problem. Just..._listen_to me."

Callie pursed her lips and shook her head, walking over to the bed; she sat down, folding her arms across her chest. "Then talk, Arizona."

"Just because I need to tell you something, doesn't mean I'm changing my mind about having a baby. Okay? Five minutes ago, I _told_you how desperately I wanted one with you, and now you're freaking out and telling me I 'all of the sudden am trying to avoid it'? Listen to me for once. For the love of God, Callie, all I wanted to say is that I want to have the baby myself!"

"Yeah, but you have a knack for walking away or leaving altogether when you...wait, what?"

Arizona picked at the hem of her shirt and fidgeted uncomfortably. "I want to have our baby." Nodding to herself, she hardened her features, ready for a rejection or a 'hell no' or…_something_to happen, but nothing did.

A few seconds passed with no sound from across the room and, chancing it, just for a moment, Arizona looked up and could see the wheels turning in Callie's mind. She could see the broken Spanish and the confused English written all over her face, but most prevalent was anger. Building, and building, and it terrified her. Feeling the worst defeat she had ever experienced in her life, she sat quietly, begging her welling tears not to fall.

It was true, she'd never really _wanted_children; she was a surgeon, not a mother, and she made no pretenses about it. But until this moment, she'd never really understood how Callie must have felt four years ago when she walked away from their relationship because she didn't want a child.

Before Arizona could muster up an apology...an excuse...anything, Callie spoke. "I need to understand why. Giving birth isn't _your_dream, Arizona."

Arizona gave Callie a dirty look. "Dreams can change, Calliope. One of mine was to live next door to my brother in a cul-de-sac and raise our families together. Guess that 'dream' won't be coming true, huh?"

Callie scoffed. "Don't bring your brother into this. That's just...just...a_lazy_argument."

Arizona laughed. "Well, excuse me, Ms. High and Mighty, you've always wanted a baby, sure, but you also could never stick to with _whom_ you wanted it! At least I knew if I was going to give in and have a family with someone, deviate from _my_dreams, I'd do it with a woman. You like to keep your options open. George, Mark, Me, Mark, Me. Please."

Callie recoiled and shook her head incredulously. "Seriously?"

"I want to have this baby because..." She sighed, feeling the weight of the stress on her shoulders already. "Because if I don't have a biological bond with our child, one already built in for me, I'm afraid… I'm _terrified_that I'll fail as a mother. That I'll never be as good at it as you will be and he or she will grow up hating me or thinking I was the worst person they could have ever been born into a family with."

Callie did a double take. While there were many excuses she was formulating in her mind as to what exactly was going through Arizona's...that was not one of them. Hell, that wasn't even on the spectrum of where she thought she'd go with this little "talk." Callie was shocked. Stunned. In complete and utter disbelief. Who was this woman and where did she come from? Callie could only watch her and wait for her to continue, no doubt with another shocking revelation.

Arizona closed her eyes, shaking her head and tilting it back on her neck. This was the exact reaction she had feared, and her reason for withholding her innermost desire on the subject. But now, with her heart lying out bare between them, she ignored her urge to cradle it and retreat, choosing to continue to make herself vulnerable in hopes that she could somehow make Callie understand.

"I never even thought I'd be able to entertain the idea of becoming a mother. And then, all of a sudden, I wanted it just as desperately as you did. So, I had to plan; evaluate every possibility that could happen, good and bad. I knew that, in order to do this with you...to create a family with you, I needed to feel a more concrete, natural, _biological_ connection to our child than just being the...'other mother.' I need you to at least try to understand _that_. I'd never try to...steal your thunder. That's not what this is, I promise. I just...need a little extra help. Help that you _don't_need because you'll be a great mom and you already know that. I don't. Okay?"

Callie didn't budge. Sure, her heartstrings tugged a little bit at her girlfriend's confession, but it still felt...impulsive, perhaps? "Biology doesn't automatically mean you'll...want it or...or...share a strong bond with a kid, Arizona."

"So, _you're_ allowed to want the biological connection? To _need_ it, as you've been telling me for four years...but when I want the same thing it's irrelevant? If it's not already there, why do you insist on carrying our baby? If it's no big deal, why can't I, if it'll help me be a better mother, in _my_eyes?"

"I've wanted this forever, I've never wavered on that until it meant not having you. And now that I have you...this is what you _suddenly_want? After not even wanting a kid, period? I'm not buying it. I think this is just another example of your control issue rearing its ugly head. I love you, I do, but this is all too sudden for me to believe even a word of it."

"What are you suggesting, then?" Arizona countered, eyes narrowing to angry slits. "That I decided to bring this up again, years later, just to say, 'Hey, Callie, I'm still out to get you and your wondrous dreams are totally irrelevant to me? That's _not_ what I'm saying. I'm trying to make you understand that I...get it now. Why you wanted to have a baby so badly. And I'm asking you if you can let me have this _one_ thing so that I'm more comfortable with this _huge_change. So, why are you attacking me?"

Callie stood and began pacing in front of her. "Because! This is _my_dream, don't you get that? To carry a child and be a mother. And if I "give in" to you just so that you'll have a kid with me at all, I..."

Arizona held out her hands in protest. "I never _once_gave you an ultimatum!"

"Oh? Sure seems like it. Let me carry the baby, let me have my newfound dream of giving birth to a baby and then I'll be a mother and we'll all live happily ever after! Don't and I'll be a terrible mother and the kid will hate me and then I won't want it, yadda yadda. Sure sounds like one to me. Just give it up already, Arizona."

"Give up?" Arizona repeated, standing suddenly with her arms folded across her chest. "You think you're the one 'giving in' and 'giving up' your dreams here? _My_ dream was to go to Spain, to build an amazing career, help the tiny humans in _Africa_, something I've wanted my _whole_ life, and then live with a woman I was madly, furiously in love with. That was it. I changed my dreams to be with you! What did _you_ change to be with me? You still get your inappropriate 'friendship' with Mark, you still get to be with me, and now you still get to have a baby, _regardless_of which one of us delivers it. Is this really so much to ask you to compromise on?"

"_WOAH_. You always bring Mark into _every_discussion we have about our lives. I really wish you would just give that up already! If this is you trying to one up him in my life, or a way to ensure that he's not fathering this child that's just...ridiculous."

"See? That's _exactly_what I'm talking about. You expect me to just give up and "let it go" when I want something or if I have feelings about something you don't agree with or like. So that you can have your perfect life, just like you've always planned it out to be and I get...what? The satisfaction of not arguing with you? Of making you happy all the time by putting my dreams and life and feelings aside? You know what? Fine. Here I am, letting go, giving in, just so you won't think I'm 'ridiculous.' Great. Fucking perfect."

Callie turned in shock with wide eyes to face Arizona. "Are you kidding me right now? This is _my_ fault? I thought you wanted a 'perfect' life _with_ me? I knew it was only a matter of time before you walked away again. Just _GO_. Give in, give up, whatever, you're good at that." Doing exactly that, she turned and swiftly left the room, slamming the door behind her and storming off through the apartment, grabbing her keys and leaving Arizona to sulk in her "poor me, my dreams are crushed" stupor.

Arizona fell back onto their bed, rubbing her temples slowly; she winced at the sound of the front door slamming in Callie's wake. She exhaled in a frustrated huff and pulled her girlfriend's pillow over her face. Two hours ago, she had thought she was coming home to what would be one of the most incredible, life-altering nights of her life. And now, instead, she was alone in their bed, wondering exactly how many more words it would take for her heart to break in two.

As that particular thought crossed her mind, an obnoxiously loud vibration sounded from the back pocket of her jeans. She wiggled around to retrieve it, sliding her thumb across to read the incoming text, presumably from Callie.

_"Don't wait up, I'm sleeping at the hospital after my shift. 3."_

With that, she received her answer. It took a mere eleven words for Callie to break her heart completely. Again. And with a beautiful, passive aggressive heart emoticon to push the knife in that much deeper.

* * *

Four days later, things had cooled off considerably. They didn't say much to each other, just idle talk, asking about each other's day, falling into bed at night as far on either side as they could be. They were "fine," but fine meant pretty shitty. It was as expected. They had the tendency to do that to each other when things got rough; give the cold shoulder and pretend like nothing had happened while each stewed and festered until one burst and gave in.

After a mundane morning at the hospital, Arizona moped and pouted her way into one of the surgical galleries to eat her lunch, thankfully and peacefully _alone_. As soon as Altman made the first cut, Alex popped his shoulder over the door and leaned in, grunting to announce his presence. He received another grunt of acknowledgment in return. Arizona wasn't in the mood to "talk about it" or any of that crap he would try to get out of her.

He was a great guy underneath his gruff and standoffish exterior, and Arizona truly did _adore_ Alex Karev. Working with him made her day a little bit brighter because even though his attitude was often on the poor side, he was probably the only one on her staff that had what it took to work in Peds. He was diligent, focused, caring, hardcore, and a guy who _really_ reminded her of her brother. Taking a liking to him became like second nature. And she'd continue to like him, as long as he _didn't_bother her today.

"Where have you been? It's like you've completely disappeared. The NICU hasn't seen you in three days, and that's the only place you've been for like, the last two weeks. What gives? Your baby fever die out or something?"

Rolling her eyes, she responded. "Karev, I'm really not in the mood to do this right now. Can't I just eat in peace?"

Shrugging, Alex stood and made his way to the doorway. He couldn't care less whether or not he stayed. He was just trying to be a good guy to her because she'd always been cool to him. He knew if he walked slowly enough, she'd get over herself and blurt something random out, probably about Callie and after she got it _all_out, she'd be happy and perky and her annoying self all over again and he could actually do his job without having to deal with Callie's moodiness and Arizona's resulting gloominess.

Huffing in frustration, Arizona slammed her arms down on the armrests of the chair and growled a little under her breath. "Okay, fine!"

Alex smirked offhandedly and sat down.

"Callie and I are fighting about babies and I didn't want to go into the NICU with bad baby vibes and force that onto all the sick ones, okay?"

"Dude, you still won't have a kid with her? I thought you resolved that forever ago. I mean, Callie's kind of a bitch sometimes, but she just wants a screaming, pooping kid. Just man up and give it to her."

She threw her hands in the air and turned to face him. "That's just it! I _want_to give her one. I just want to give birth to it, so she thinks I'm being a terrible person and ruining her dreams or something. I just want to have the kid!"

Alex eyed her cautiously, worried about hitting a nerve, but still oddly curious. "Then..." he paused, really wishing he weren't having this conversation, "are swimmers the problem? I mean, I figured Mark would..."

"No! They aren't!" Arizona said, turning away in repulsion. "And ew. Stop calling them…gross man words. Mark will have _nothing_ to do with fathering_my_child if I have any say in its parentage."

"Calm down, it was just a guess. They're all close and buddy buddy and stuff, he seemed like the best option for you lesbians and whatnot."

Arizona continued quickly, now on a subject about which she was endlessly passionate. She could go on all day discussing her distaste for all things Mark Sloan. "Yeah, don't remind me. I'm sorry, I just...don't know why everyone assumes _he_has to be the dad. Or that he even should!"

Alex stared off below the glass at the surgery Altman was now performing beneath them. Protruding his bottom lip and nodding nonchalantly in that calm, cool, collected way men do, he spoke suddenly and without hesitation. "You want mine?"

Arizona did a double take and then looked at him like he'd grown eight heads. "Wh-what?"

Alex shrugged his left shoulder. "Well, yeah. Do you want mine? My swi..." He caught himself and lowered his voice. "Y'know..._sperm_, if you want to use it to get your kid, you can."

"I mean, that's…great of you to offer, but don't you...want that for if you find a wife and want a baby of your own?"

Alex scoffed. "My family is messed up. And that's a freaking understatement. Every girl I've ever dated has been bat shit crazy. I don't wanna have a kid with some nutty chick with my family's messed up history. But you and Callie, y'know, maybe you guys can prove that the whole 'nature vs. nurture' thing really works, and have a great kid come from my genes without me having to screw it up by being its dad. If you want my…" He puffed out his chest in a show of his self-assured masculinity. "Swimmers. They're yours. Tell me when and where, and I'll be there."

Arizona smiled, overwhelmed by his generosity and her gratitude. "You know, when I first started here, everyone warned me that _you_would be the hardest to work with." She paused while Alex grunted, pleased with his apparent reputation. "But I have come to respect you so much more than any colleague I've ever worked with. You're a good man, Alex. And, surprisingly, a good friend."

He shuffled uncomfortably, looking anywhere but directly at her. "They're just swimmers, you don't have to get all...mushy and emotional on me."

"But I do," she argued, "Because I'm not sure people appreciate you the way you deserve. And what you're willing to do for me, for us, is a big deal."

"Yeah, yeah," he shrugged. "You're the only boss who's ever taken me seriously. Even if I talk about your boobs and yell at idiot parents sometimes."

Arizona shook her head with a smirk, patting him on the shoulder as she exited the room, leaning back into the doorway. "Just so you know, this is your free pass to stare at them any time for the next year. After that, I'm pulling rank on you."

"You know, you're lucky I like you. You're the hottest chick in this hospital and I don't even get to make a kid with you the fun way."

"Hey, you already did it 'the fun way' with the kid's other parent," she reminded him, "So, you're really lucky that _I_ like _you,_or you'd have no swimmers to offer to anyone."

Alex rolled his eyes in response, quickly changing the subject. "So, about this Callie fight. Do we need to talk about it, or are you good?"

Arizona nodded slowly, sighing to herself, walking slightly further into the room so that the entire hospital didn't know her life story by two o'clock. She paused in thought, not really sure how to respond. "I don't understand why it's even an issue. I'm giving her a child, which is exactly what she wanted, but she told me I'm stealing her dreams from her. So, she does want a child, but only on her terms. And only if _she_is its mother."

"Well," he began, stepping closer to her and lowering his voice once more, respecting the privacy she was clearly trying to reserve. "I've seen you more than anybody else with those kids, for a handful of years now. You'd make a great mother, biological or otherwise. You treat them with the respect they deserve. Most adults wouldn't even think to do that. You have a gift with them."

Arizona shrugged and shook her head lightly, almost as if in shame. "Just because I'm good with my _patients_, doesn't mean I won't mess up my own child beyond repair. I've seen it happen, Karev. What if I mess it up? What if I end up being a bad mother? I'm not bad at _anything_!"

"Don't worry about whether or not you'd be a good mother; those things are usually trial and error anyway. And besides…with my DNA? That would be one good lookin' kid. And we both know being attractive doesn't hurt anyone's chances in life. Plus, if it's hot, you can probably stand to screw it up a little and he or she will still turn out just fine."

Arizona looked up with wide, expectant eyes. "You think so?"

Alex nodded. "Duh. My parents did a number on me, but I'm a freaking attending now. I came out okay once I got my shit together. If I can do it, your kid will definitely be okay. Plus, it'll have a kick ass big brother to help too, if you'd like that."

"As long as you promise to high five them in the hallways and teach them how to throw a football. Because I couldn't throw a spiral if my life depended on it." Arizona smiled at him, pleased that she'd found at least one good man to have in her everyday life. "You know, my brother died a long time ago, but he would have liked you. And I think he'd like it even more if you could do the things he won't be able to with my kid. You're as close to a brother as I've got. But," she paused, pointing a finger towards his chest. "No burping the alphabet or having spitting contests. That's _so_gross."

Alex smirked, checking his watch as he walked past Arizona, leaving the room in a hurry. "We'll see. Sometimes grossing chicks out is fun. Especially you. I've got a surgery in ten, so…see ya."

Arizona rolled her eyes and gave him a halfhearted wave as he rushed down the hallway. She did feel better, and she couldn't believe talking to Alex Karev had helped with the things she'd been stressing over for weeks. "Huh," she chuckled. "Who knew?" Following Alex's path down the hall, she kicked out her Heely's and glided her way to the locker room, determined, relieved, and in slight disbelief that she'd just had a conversation of that magnitude with, of all people, Alex.

* * *

Callie awoke from a nap across from the hospital to the sound of her phone blaring from the table next to her. She fumbled around aimlessly in the dark, twisting herself in knots within the sheets in her attempt to silence the offending noise.

Hearing the chime of a missed call, she swore quietly and sat up, squinting at the brightness of the phone's screen on the nightstand. The caller ID read "Little Sister," and for a moment she feared the worst. Had Aria miscarried? But just as quickly, she pushed that thought away; it wouldn't be the only possible reason for Aria to call, just because she was pregnant. Taking a deep breath and choosing the "call" option under her contact information, she held the receiver to her ear, enduring the monotonous ringing patiently.

Aria answered with a panicked sob. "Oh, thank God! Where were you? Why didn't you answer me the first time? What-"

Callie rolled her eyes at her sister's dramatics, falling back into her pillows and throwing her free arm across her eyes. "Aria. _Hey_. Calm down, please? I had to work the night shift; I was just taking a nap. What the hell is going on?"

Aria rambled on for several minutes, devastated over the fact that her boyfriend had informed her that he _didn't_want to get married after all, and that he got a promotion that would have him travelling every two weeks.

"Which," she fumed, "was his way of saying that he has no interest in being our child's father. Can you believe that? You're just… so lucky."

Callie scoffed, glaring at the photo of her with Arizona on the wall near the bedroom door. "You'd be surprised."

"What are you talking about? Arizona wants to have a kid with you, even though you're _clearly_being a bitch to her, and, as you've experienced in the past, she'll pretty much stay with you through anything. Africa notwithstanding, but that was kind of your fault anyway for being such a brat…"

Callie interrupted incredulously, "Excuse me, you're supposed to be on _my_ side! Especially since _you_ called _me_sobbing over Mr. Right Now."

Aria scoffed. "Just because I haven't found someone worthy of sharing the rest of my life, doesn't mean I don't know it when I see it. She's it, Cal. You should know that by now. And being a jerk about this kid thing isn't helping to make sure she _wants_to stay with you. Why aren't you two speaking again?"

Callie continued defensively, rushing through her words in an attempt to sound like less of a jerk. "I _know_ she's it. I never said she wasn't! I just don't think it's fair that she _all of a sudden_wants to take away my dream of being a mother!"

"Is she, though? All she said was that she wanted to carry the child, there's nothing vindictive or malicious about that. You _still_ get to be a mother; you're just being selfish about it. Let her have the kid so she doesn't freak out when it's born and constantly be afraid. Is it really terrible to let her have the first one? It's not like you can't have more if you guys want. Just let her have this one, even if it wasn't her _original_ dream, like yours. If she thinks she needs this, entertain the idea and grow up! You still get Arizona, you still get your kid, and you still get to live happily ever after. There are_noyour_'relationship woes.' For once, I just…needed my big sister."

Callie's heart dropped and her throat started to burn with unshed tears. She'd neglected to acknowledge the fact that her sister's boyfriend had basically left her alone, the whole reason for their phone call.

"The facts are that I'm twenty-two years old, three months pregnant, one month into grad school and I am pretty much alone in all of that. Mom and Dad have kind of cut ties with me since I won't be getting married anymore, so, I really wanted to hear my sister tell me everything is going to be okay because she's been through it already. So, can we set aside The Callie Show and please just…" She sighed. "Just for once, tell me what I want to hear so I'll feel better."

Callie closed her eyes and silently took a deep, calming breath. Aria was right; she had a tendency to get carried away when even the most minute of things happened to her in fear of the absolute worst. She didn't mean to be that way, it just sort of…happened without her consent.

"You're the strongest person I know, you always have been. So, yes, of course you're going to be okay. If you need to get away, you know where to find me."

"Are you sure you'd have room for me?" Aria questioned teasingly "You know, with your giant ego?"

Callie laughed, rolling her eyes with a smile. "Point taken. And even if we don't, we can always make room for my baby sister."

"Thanks," Aria replied warmly, all evidence of her previous disdain removed from her voice. "Now. What are you going to do?"

Callie sighed, "I'm…going to talk to her about it."

"Good girl," Aria praised. "Tell Arizona I love her. And I love you."

"Love you too, kid." Callie grinned; even if Aria had to put her in her place sometimes, she was still the big sister.

Never one for goodbyes, however informal it may be, Aria ended the call with just a laugh and a _click_, leaving Callie to her thoughts again, which were considerably more pleasant now that she was fully aware of just how selfishly she had been acting.

She wasn't alone for more than ten minutes when the bedroom door slammed open, banging against the wall loudly. Arizona dropped her coat and bag in the middle of the doorway, rolling her shoulders back to shake her nerves out of her body. She took one look at Callie, inhaling deeply as she did when she had something important to say. When they locked eyes, as though they could read each other's mind, their faces dropped; all the anger had released from their bodies, and they were overwhelmingly thankful for the conclusions to which they had come during their time apart.

With a half-smile and a nod, Arizona rushed to the end of the bed as Callie crawled on all fours to meet her there; they stopped abruptly just before an embrace, and with nervous excitement, they opened their mouths and spoke simultaneously once again.

"I want you to have our baby."

Both stopped and just stared, breathlessly in awe of one another, and marveling at how stupid it was that they weren't kissing, touching, loving,_anything_ other than standing there gawking at each other like idiots. They rushed forward, colliding forcefully in a deep, passionate kiss as they fell onto the bed, murmuring various forms of "I missed you," "I love you so much," and "I'm sorry" as they scrambled upward, tangled unceremoniously, to the head of their bed to make up for lost time.


End file.
